THE SUFFERING CHRIST

In 1984 the then Polish Prime Minister Jaruzelski had ordered crucifixes removed from classroom walls, just as they had been banned in factories, hospitals, and other public institutions. Catholic bishops attacked the ban that had stirred waves of anger and resentment all across Poland. Ultimately the government relented, insisting that the law remain on the books, but agreeing not to press for removal of the crucifixes, particularly in the schoolrooms.
But one zealous Communist school administrator decided that the law was the law. So one evening he had seven large crucifixes removed from lecture halls where they had hung since the school's founding in the twenties. Days later, a group of parents entered the school and hung more crosses. The administrator promptly had these taken down as well. The next day two-thirds of the school's 600 students staged a sit-in. When heavily armed riot police arrived, the students were forced into the streets. Then they marched, crucifixes held high, to a nearby church where they were joined by 2,500 other students from nearby schools for a morning of prayer in support of the protest. Soldiers surrounded the church. But, the pictures from inside of students holding crosses high above their heads flashed around the world. So did the words of the priest who delivered the message to the weeping congregation that morning. "There is no Poland without a cross."

What gave the Polish such incredible power to hold on to the cross in the midst of severe opposition? Could you imagine a world without the cross? Not only Poland, without the cross of Christ there would be no Christianity hence there would be no hope for humanity.

I. THE POWER OF THE CROSS:
Every religion and ideology has its visual symbol, which illustrates a significant feature of its history or beliefs. The lotus flower is used by ancient Chinese, Egyptians, and Indians and is now particularly associated with Buddhism and represents either the cycle of birth and death or the emergence of beauty and harmony out of the muddy waters of chaos. For modern Judaism the Star of David speaks of God’s covenant with David. For Muslims a crescent is a symbol of sovereignty. Even the secular ideologies of this century have their symbols
What one symbol for Christians around the world depicts the core message, beliefs, and history of Christianity? “It seems certain that at least from the second century onwards, Christians not only drew, painted and engraved the cross as a pictorial symbol of their faith.” In countries like India the symbol of the cross clearly distinguishes Christians from among millions of Hindus and Muslims. However I have noticed in America it doesn’t always carry quite the same significance or symbolism for people who wear a cross. Unfortunately for many the cross remains a mere cosmetic symbol and has lost its meaning and power.

How can we claim ourselves to be Christians and not tenaciously hold on to the claims of Christ and fearlessly proclaim the message of the Cross in our work place, schools, government and market place? It is not the cross as a mere symbol that is powerful to change any lives but it is the Christ of the cross who is powerful to transform lives. Paul recognized that power of God, I Cor 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness for those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” The message of the cross may be foolish for those who are perishing but it is the power of God to those who are being saved.

II. THE SUFFERING CHRIST BEFORE THE CRUCIFIXION:
What made the early Christians so radical in their faith so that they did not withhold any thing including their own lives when it came to propagate and preserve the message of the Cross and persevere under intense persecution? Was it their simple resolve or their witnessing and identifying in the suffering of Christ? We have no clue of what Jesus must have suffered in order to purchase salvation for us. Let me paint the picture of the suffering Christ before and during Crucifixion. Both Matthew and Mark gave a detailed description on what actually went on once Christ was handed over to be crucified.

Matthew 27:26-31 “Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.” What was taking place here is already foretold by the Prophet Isaiah long ago we read it in Isaiah 53rd chapter. Let me draw your attention to a few things from this passage:

AN OUTRAGEOUS INJUSTICE:
A bandit! An outlaw!! A criminal was released and an innocent man was punished!!! How outrageous? If something like that happens today don’t we all shout INJUSTICE? But that was what exactly happened when Pilate released Barabbas and had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. By choosing Barabbas over Jesus people indicated that they loved darkness more than light. They preferred wickedness more than choosing to do the right thing. John 3:19-20 “The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.” Even today there are certain people who delight in the darkness; they would rather choose the pleasures of sin than to live a life that is pleasing to God. What would you choose today, the darkness or the light?

By choosing Barabbas over Jesus people condemned Jesus to be the worst criminal of all. Is that a fitting tribute to the one who healed their deceases, set their demon possessed free, raised their dead and fed their thousands? Even today many followers of Christ and missionaries around the world are being treated that way, they are considered as anti social elements and criminals because they try to love people and walk in the footsteps of their Lord and master.

A PUBLIC HUMILIATION AND UNCONTROLLED TORTURE:
Jesus was in the hands of merciless Roman guards. Matthew gives us a picture saying the whole cohort was around him. A Roman Cohort (Battalion) consisted of anywhere between 300-1000 men. Mark describes, “They blind folded him, struck him with their fists and said prophesy, some even spat on him. What a humiliation of the one who healed the blind men, touched the lepers and blessed their children by laying his hands on them. That was not the end. After stripping him naked they scourged him. Here the Gospel writers do not give us any description of how the Roman whipping or scourging was like. The Roman scourge, also called the "flagrum" or "flagellum" was a short whip made of two or three leather (ox-hide) thongs or ropes connected to a handle. The leather thongs were knotted with a number of small pieces of metal, usually zinc and iron and bones. Scourging would quickly remove the skin.

According to history the punishment of a slave was particularly dreadful. In ancient Rome crucifixion was almost always preceded by the "flagrum or scourging" The Jewish scourging contained 39 lashes but there is no set number for Roman scourging. They continue scourging until the victim is nearly dead.

A SCARLET ROBE, CROWN OF THORNS AND A REED:
After scourging Jesus the Roman soldiers made a mockery of Him. But even in their mockery they did not realize that they were fulfilling the scriptures. They placed a Scarlet robe (military cloak) on him. In ancient Rome the Scarlet Robe was worn by royalty, priests, and the Roman army. In the Roman army a dull read cloak was given to the soldiers, a bright scarlet cloak was given to the officers and a purple cloak was given to the generals. In any case it was a thick round woolen cloak. Can you imagine the pain Jesus endured when the heavy thick cloak was put on his body? By putting the scarlet robe they unknowingly affirmed the royalty and the priesthood of Jesus. In Isaiah1:18 “Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.”

The scarlet robe represents the sin of the whole world. God put all our sins on Jesus. Isaiah 53:4-5 4 “Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.” Unlike the high priests who offered blood sacrifice for the sins of Israel once a year, Jesus the Great High priest offered his blood as a sacrifice for the sins of not only Israel but the sins of the whole world once for all.

Paul writes in Romans 3:25 “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood.” I John 2:2, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” After placing the robe they twisted together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, Hail King of the Jews.

In the Bible thorns and thistles represent the curse of God. In the Garden of Eden God cursed the land saying “it will produce thorns and thistles for you” In Hebrews 6:8 “But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.” The crown of thorns on Jesus’ head signifies that He took the curse of the land upon himself. Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-- for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”

The soldiers knelt before Jesus and said mockingly “Hail King of the Jews.” Even today there are people who mock Jesus, Christians and the Church, but little do they know that one day including the soldiers who mocked Jesus would bend their knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,” Philippians 2:10-11. With a crown of thorns on his head and a reed in his right hand and a royal scarlet robe draped around, Jesus looked like a King but a suffering King indeed.

III. THE SUFFERING OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS:
There was no vivid description of the actual crucifixion in the Scriptures. All the four gospel writers simply stated that “they crucified him” that doesn’t give us a whole lot of in depth insight on of how much our Lord suffered. However based on other documents we get the gruesome picture of what happens at a typical crucifixion, “The prisoner would first be publicly humiliated by being stripped naked. He was then laid on his back on the ground, while his hands were either nailed or roped to the horizontal wooden beam and his feet to the vertical pole. The cross was then hoisted to an upright position and dropped into a socket which had been dug for it in the ground. Usually a peg or rudimentary seat was provided to take some of the weight of the victim’s body and prevent it from being torn loose. But there he would hang, helplessly exposed to intense physical pain, public ridicule, daytime heat and night time cold. The torture would last several days.” The rest of it I will leave to your imagination.

IV. DOES CHRIST REALLY UNDERSTAND MY SUFFERING?
All I tried so far is just to give us a glimpse of the sufferings of our Lord, there is much more to be explored. What then is the relationship of Christ’s suffering and mine? Suffering is the pathway to maturity. The Son of God needed to be matured through suffering, “Hebrews 5:8-9 “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,” If suffering was the means by which the sinless Christ became mature, how much more do we need it in our sinfulness.

Now you may be reading and thinking ‘Yeah right!! Christ knows nothing of what I am going through! Does he know what it is to be lonely? Rejected? Homeless? Exhausted? Does he know what it is to be in pain, to be pressured to perform, to be bad mouthed? Does he know what it is to be misunderstood, laughed and backstabbed? Does he know what it is to be human, to maintain a busy schedule and meet deadlines? Does he understand anger and frustration? Does he understand the agony of loosing a friend? Does he understand my sexuality; did he ever struggle with temptation?

We find a profound answer to all these questions in Hebrew 4:15-16 “Christ has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help is in our time of need.