I’m posting this on Good Friday, 2024. The “good” we celebrate today are the good work of love Jesus performed on the cross in our place and the very good gift of eternal life that accompanies our faith and obedience to Him. God is good.
This year I’ve been concentrating on the feelings Jesus experienced leading up to and during his sacrifice on the cross in addition to the obviously severe physical pain involved. Both Christian and non-Christian sources agree that Jesus was stripped naked before being nailed to the cross. Although artists through the centuries have added a loin cross to restore his dignity, Jesus’ first feelings as the cross was raised putting him on display to the gathering crowd which included his mother and dearest friends were total exposure and embarrassment.
Jesus felt compassion while on the cross. He asked his heavenly Father to forgive those crucifying him because they didn’t understand what they were doing. Jesus felt compassion for the two people who loved him most, his mother and John. He asked them to console each other as mother and son during his absence. Then he showed the most compassion to the thief who believed in him. He took him to Paradise.
I can find no report of Jesus ever shouting out because of the physical pain from the torture and even crucifixion he endured, but he did cry out in anguish when he took on the sins of the world, including yours and mine, and his Heavenly Father could no longer even bear to look at him. I have said and written many times that the fire and brimstone of hell are just discomforts compared to the pain of being totally separated from God. Even brief separation made God’s Son cry out in anguish .
Thank you Jesus for the physical, mental,emotional and spiritual pain you suffered to provide a path to eternal life for me and everyone else who believes in and follows you.