Suffering on the Cross of Jesus Christ
Author – Archpriest Alexander Sokolov
They brought our Lord Jesus Christ to Golgotha. Golgotha is a small hill, a low hill near the city of Jerusalem. All the criminals were executed here and there were a lot of skulls and human heads lying around. That is why Golgotha was called the frontal (skull, forehead) place. On some crosses you see a human skull under the feet of Jesus Christ. This, they say, is the head of Adam, who, according to legend, was buried at this place.
Before execution, the condemned were given sour wine mixed with fragrant but bitter myrrh to drink. This mixture was given to drink so that the condemned would become drunk and it would not be so painful for them to endure the torment on the cross. They gave wine as sour as vinegar and bitter as gall to the Lord Jesus; but He refused and did not drink.
According to the Jewish reckoning it was three o'clock, and according to ours it was nine o'clock in the morning.
They put up a cross and crucified Jesus Christ on it. Other crucified people were tied to the cross with ropes, and Jesus Christ, to make it more painful for Him, had his hands and feet nailed to the cross.
With Him they crucified two thieves, one on His right hand and the other on His left.
Do you think that Jesus Christ was angry at His enemies who crucified Him? No. He, the Merciful, forgave them and prayed for them: “Father! Forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.”
The soldiers who crucified Jesus Christ sat down at the cross and began to divide His clothes. They tore the outer clothing into four parts, and each of the four warriors took his part, and they regretted tearing the tunic (shirt), which was woven and not sewn, and cast lots to see who would get it.
Above the crosses they usually nailed tablets on which they wrote why the person hanged on the cross was crucified. The same tablet was also nailed above the cross of Jesus Christ, and on it was written: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” On our crosses, for the most part, only the first letters of these words are written: I. N. Ts. I.
How He suffered, what torment Jesus Christ endured on the cross! His hands and feet are pierced through and through with thick sharp nails. I would like to rest on my legs so that it would be easier for my hands: but under my feet there is a small sloping stand on which my legs slide down, and the wounds on my legs stretch and become larger and larger. I would like to give my legs a rest: but then my whole body hangs on my arms, my veins stretch out, and the ulcers from the nails on my arms tear wider and wider. His head is spinning, His eyes are dark, His throat is dry, He is terribly thirsty; my whole body hurts and aches unbearably.
Dear brothers and sisters! It seems to me that if you had to stand near the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified and see His suffering, you would feel sorry for Him and cry; but the evil Jews did not feel sorry for Jesus. A lot of Jews gathered at the cross, but they came there not because they loved and pitied Jesus Christ, but came out of curiosity; having nothing else to do, I wanted to see what would happen. And many of them even cursed and mocked Jesus; They nodded their heads to Him and said: “He who destroys the temple and builds it in three days! Save Yourself; if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” What about the high priests, elders and scribes? Do you think that their conscience tormented them, and they repented of crucifying Christ, Who was not guilty of anything? No! These evil people were very happy that Christ was on the cross. Instead of repenting and asking Him for forgiveness, these people, who were so proud before the people, now, forgetting about their years with joy (many of them were old men with gray hair and beards), cursed at Christ. “He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If He is the Christ, the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross: then let us believe Him. He trusted in God and said: I am the son of God; “let God deliver Him, if He loves Him,” they said loudly, so that Christ, with whom they seemed not to even want to speak, could be heard.
The soldiers also cursed at the crucified Christ. They took a sponge, soaked it in vinegar, stuck it on the end of a long stick and brought it to the lips of Jesus Christ, saying: “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”
Not only did the people laugh at the crucified, suffering Christ, the high priests cursed and the soldiers mocked, one of the villains who were hanged with Him also cursed at Him: “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But another crucified thief, who still had a conscience, calmed his comrade: “Don’t you fear God (don’t you feel how hard it is for Him to suffer)? After all, we are judged justly; we are executed for our deeds: but He did nothing bad.” And he said to Jesus: “Remember (remember) me, O Lord, when you come into Your kingdom” (heavenly). And Jesus said to Him: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
There were also good people who pitied Jesus and cried when they saw His suffering, but they were not allowed close to the cross, and they stood at a distance and watched. Among them were many women who followed him and served Him when He walked through the land of Israel, and together with Him they came to Jerusalem. At the very cross of Jesus stood: His Mother, the Virgin Mary, and Her sister, Mary of Cleopas, Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ beloved disciple John. Seeing that they were crying bitterly, Jesus said to His Mother: “Woman! Behold Your son! You cry because Your Son is dying; Here he will replace Your Son, he will love, honor and take care of You like a son. Then he said to the disciple: “Behold your Mother,” if you really love Me, do not leave My Mother, who cries so much; comfort and honor Her like a good son; take care of Her as if you were your own mother.” From that time on, John took the Mother of God to himself, and She lived in his house until her death.
According to our account it was twelve o'clock in the morning, noon, and according to the Jewish account it was six o'clock in the afternoon. Suddenly the sun darkened and darkness fell over the entire earth, and lasted, according to the Jewish reckoning, until the ninth hour, and in our opinion until the third hour in the afternoon.
Death of Jesus Christ
About nine (according to our calculation - three) hours, Jesus Christ loudly exclaimed: “My God! My God! Have you really forsaken me? In Hebrew: “Or! Or! Lama sabachthani? Some of those standing at the cross, hearing this, said: “Listen! It is He who calls Elijah (the prophet).”
A jug of vinegar stood nearby. One of the soldiers took a sponge, soaked it in vinegar and wanted to give Jesus a drink, but the other soldiers stopped him: “Wait! Let me see if Elijah will come to save Him.”
Knowing that the end of suffering had already come and that all that remained was to try this tasteless, sour and bitter drink, Jesus Christ asked for a drink. After drinking the vinegar, He exclaimed: “It is finished!” (My suffering ended. I suffered and saved all people).
Finally He felt so bad that He said in a loud voice: “Father! I commend My spirit into Your hands!” He said this and died.
And then the curtain in the temple was torn in half by itself, from top to bottom; the earth shook; stone rocks shattered and cracked; The coffins and caves where the dead were buried were opened, and many bodies of the deceased saints were resurrected, came to life, and came out of the coffins. After the resurrection of Christ they entered Jerusalem. Many have seen these resurrected dead people.
It became scary on earth: darkness in broad daylight, an earthquake, noise and crackling from collapsing rocks. It became so scary that the centurion (a Roman officer, a pagan who did not believe in God), seeing all this, hearing the last dying groan of Jesus Christ, believed in God and said: “Truly, this Man was the Son of God.” The same soldiers who guarded Jesus and mocked him, seeing an earthquake, an eclipse of the sun and the destruction of rocks, said in fear: “Indeed, He was the Son of God!”
Many Jews who were at Golgotha now saw that an innocent person had been crucified, that they had killed Christ, the Son of God. They felt ashamed and afraid for their sin, and they went home, hanging their heads in sadness and shame, and beating their chests with their fists in horror.
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that all this happened on Friday? The next day was the biggest Jewish holiday: both Saturday and Passover. The high priests and Jews did not want crosses with crucified people to stand on the holiday, and even before the death of Christ they went to Pilate and asked him to quickly kill the crucified people and allow them to be taken down and the crosses removed.
Pilate sent soldiers. In order for the crucified to die sooner, the soldiers began to break their legs. They broke the legs of both crucified villains, approached Jesus, and wanted to do the same to Him, but He had already died. To make sure of this, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear. And suddenly blood and water flowed from this wound, which convinced everyone of the death of Christ.
For you and me, dear brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ endured such torment, for you and me He died so that His Heavenly Father would forgive us our sins and give us the kingdom of heaven. How can we not love Him and live according to His commandments?
Why do we remember that terrible story?
But the 15th chapter of the Gospel of Mark plunges us into a different atmosphere - the atmosphere of the very process of redemption, which was accomplished for you and me.
After each of these verses we should add the phrase, “This He did for my sake.”
One of the famous Christians of our time, a church pastor, said that after each of these verses that we have read, each of us should add the following phrase: “He did this for my sake.” He did this because of my sins. He did this so that today all of the above: Easter, the Resurrection of Christ, forgiveness of sins, and triumph in the Lord, became possible for me. Only He could do this, and Christ did it because he loved you and me very much.
Every time I re-read the account of the suffering of Jesus Christ, my heart weeps for what my Lord Jesus Christ had to endure. And when we read this story with our hearts, we can understand all the depth, all the measure of sin that was laid upon Christ - my sin, my perversion, my hopelessness. He took it all, as the prophet Isaiah writes (Isaiah 53:7,12), and bore it on Himself voluntarily, like the Lamb of God.
And today, every first Sunday of the month, we gather together not just to mechanically fulfill the Lord’s commandment to participate in the holy breaking of bread, but we all go together to the foot of the cross of Calvary in order to see how our redemption and our freedom went to Jesus Christ .
The path along which the Lord leads every disciple
Paul goes on to say that in order to be glorified with Christ, one must suffer with Him. The topic of suffering is, on the one hand, a very real topic, but on the other hand, every Christian in his heart wants to be affected by it as little as possible, in order to get through this dark streak of suffering more easily. But for the Apostle Paul this was a reality, and he considered everything that he endured for the sake of Christ to be of great value.
How are you today? Are you ready to be a fellow sufferer with Christ, are you ready to bear the reproach of Christ, which in our world every Christian very often shuns or avoids? Are you ready today to live with Christ and to be, as Paul writes, sentenced, as it were, to death, but carrying life within you, in order to become like Christ? This is the path that the Lord leads His Church. This is the path along which the Lord leads every disciple. This is the path that Christ walked. And today He invites you and me to take this path and follow Him, despite what the world says, what the world offers, and how the world reacts to it.
Can you say that the price Christ paid for you was not in vain?
When the whole church collectively remembers the suffering of the Lord, you also personally participate in this Evening. Imagine that you are receiving this Supper from the hands of the Lord himself - are you ready? Can you say that this journey of becoming like Christ is happening in your life? Can you say that the price that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, paid for you, suffering voluntarily, ascending to the cross of his own free will, because he knew you and me, was not in vain? What place does this Son of God have in your life today?
The Resurrection of Christ is directly related to His death
On Easter days we talk a lot about what we have in Christ. It's not bad, it's very good. But I would like our hearts to be filled with an understanding of God's truths.
If you do not live a life of co-crucifixion with Christ today, then you will never be resurrected with Him.
If we want and expect the resurrection with Christ, then, as the Apostle Paul writes: everyone who wants to be resurrected with Christ must first be crucified with Christ. If you expect this co-resurrection, but today you do not live a life of co-crucifixion with God, but live for yourself (Clive Lewis once said that lately we really like to believe in God, but live for ourselves), then you will never be co-resurrected with Him. If, when participating in the Supper, your heart is not ready, then the sacrifice of Christ and the person of Christ are not the most important value for you. In order to be co-resurrected, I must be co-crucified.
