Why did Jesus Die a Brutal Death

QUESTION: Why did Jesus Die a Brutal Death?

ANSWER:

Crucifixion was the torture and execution method where a victim was usually nailed or tied to a wooden stake and left to die. This was the Romans' most severe form of execution, reserved only for slaves and criminals. Nails were pounded through the wrists into a crossbeam that was attached to a vertical stake. Sometimes the feet were also nailed to the vertical stake. As exhaustion came to the victim, he could not hold himself up to allow blood to reach his vital organs. Sometimes it would take days for the person to die. The executioners sometimes broke the victim's legs with a club to speed up the dying process.

"Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men," says Isaiah 52:14. Jesus suffered tremendously through His trials, torture, and crucifixion (See Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19 for complete biblical details of the beating of Jesus).

Even more intense than the physical death of Jesus was the spiritual suffering He experienced. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Jesus carried the sin-weight of the entire world (1 John 2:2). It was the sin of the world that caused Jesus Christ to cry out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). Jesus' physical suffering was brutal, but it was our sins that caused Him the most suffering.

Jesus' suffering and torture shows the hatred and cruelty of humanity. Satan's hatred of God and His Son Jesus were the motivation behind the extreme torture and abuse. The suffering of Jesus is an example of how sinful man feels toward a holy God (Romans 3:10-18).

Isaiah 53:3-5 says, "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."

The Bible declares that it is by Jesus' stripes we are healed! It is His death that paid the penalty mankind could not pay-death! We are all sinners and have fallen short of what God demands. We deserve to die. Jesus, in His obedience to His Father, died for us, so through faith in His atoning act we could measure up to God's standards! God loved each of us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear our sin and die in our place.