1,993 years ago, on April 3, AD 33, the most significant event in the history of the world occurred:

The death of Jesus Christ.

Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, Israel in front of His family, friends, and enemies. Many of His very own disciples had betrayed Him, fled or denied knowing Him despite all the years He led and discipled them.

It culminated with the single most horrifying and torturous method of killing that the savage Babylonian King Darius had invented and the Roman empire perfected.

Death by Crucifixion.

But first, torture.

Pontius Pilate, the Roman official who presided over the trial of Jesus, first ordered Him to be flogged with a Roman Flagrum. This was a close-range leather lead-tipped whip designed to tear the flesh from a victim. Afterwards soldiers fashioned a crown of thorns from a tree (likely the Ziziphus spina-christi) which contained 1-2” needle sharp thorns.

The Bible had a prophecy about the event from Isaiah: “His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from His appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.”

This suggests an insanely bloody and mutilated body, likely a broken nose. Not to mention soldiers doing anything they could to ramp up the pain, even to the hair on His face:

“I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.” — Isaiah 50:6

Jesus Himself was recorded in multiple Gospels saying, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

He was forced to carry His crossbeam, endure the pain of 5-7” iron square nails being driven into His wrists and feet and then die slowly over the course of 6 hours.

Cause of His death from scholars that have studied the event has been catalogued as:

All of this suffering because of sin.

Not the world’s sin.

Your sin.

Paul would record later in Romans 5:8 that “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Bible’s prophetic voice rings loud in the Psalms recording this about that fateful day:

For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet. — Psalm 22:16

When Jesus breathed His last, He was buried in tomb and a 2,750-pound boulder was rolled in front of it and guarded by at least 4 Roman soldiers so nobody could break in and steal the body.

Despite all that, 39 hours later an earthquake hit, the tomb was rolled away and Jesus was not inside, culminating in the miraculous moment that Christians forever say on Easter Sunday…

HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

He died. So you could live.

Praise the Lord that we can not only know God, but that He loved us so much He gave His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to die a physical death on a cross in the most horrible of ways so that anyone who believes in Him will never perish but have eternal, abundant, and joyous life in the presence of their Creator!

This is why we can walk freely and confidently and boldly in all things. And it’s why we need to take seriously the life that we’ve been blessed with and intentional with how we live and Who we serve.

If you’ve ever been on the fence of wondering how real these stories are or wondered if you have value or worth left, may this serve as a reminder that Jesus Loves You and He willing died for you.

For those on the edge of curiosity and wanting to listen to a message on this very topic, here are some I recommend:

Meet with Jesus.

If you’re a believer, spend time seeking God Daily through His Word and Prayer.

If you’re not a believer, then I encourage you to meet Him. Respond to this email and let me know and I’d love to send you a free Bible along with some resources on where to start.

Rooting for you always,

Joshua Brown
Chief of Sinners, but Saved by Grace