Much to the surprise of most, the appearance of Jesus as he hung from the cross, dying for the sins of all of mankind, was not like we might think. Usually, he is shown with only a few drops of blood on a body that did not appear to be severely beaten, bruised or swollen. But this is not what the Biblical record shows to say the least. Brace yourself for the painful truth about the horrible ordeal the Lord of Glory endured, according to Scripture. Without a doubt, the Savior paid an incredible price to purchase our redemption with his own blood. [The following Scriptures are not cited in the actual order in which they occurred.]
His Back Was Beaten,
Beard Was
Pulled Out,
And Face Spit Upon
The Prophet Isaiah wrote the following:
I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. (Isa 50:6)
Notice, the Lord was spit on and had his beard pulled out (or plucked out) by ignorant and wicked people. Both cheeks must have been bloody, raw and bleeding just from this. But the Lord was also struck in the face:
When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded. (John 18:22)
Jesus Was Also Punched
In The Face Multiple Times
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin (Mt. 26:59) were present to do the following things to Jesus. Notice: The religious leaders of that day punched Jesus! By the way, the Sanhedrin consisted of 70 people!
Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him (Mat 26:67)
Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him. (Mark 14:65)
That kind of horrible mob beating also occurred a second time - by a band of Roman soldiers. Regarding them we read:
They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. (Mat 27:28-32)
Jesus was Flogged
Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. (Mat 27:26)
To state that Jesus was flogged is to say that he was beat bloody with a whip with nine lashes that had sharp objects at the end of the lashes to bruise and tear the flesh. Also, it was not the Jews who flogged Jesus. If it had been they would have been restricted to only 39 lashes. Instead, it was the Roman soldiers who were not under any Scriptural regulation for this kind of punishment. They could have far exceeded the number of blows the Jews would have given. (Sometimes flogging alone would kill the victims.)
Jesus Was Falsely Accused,
Stripped, Mocked,
Insulted, Crowned With Thorns
And Crucified
Besides the physical beatings Jesus went through there was also the mockery and insults from various evil people at different times:
All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." (Psa 22:7,8)
The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. (Luke 23:10,11)
Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Mat 27:39-44)
Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!" In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Mark 15:29-32)
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." (Luke 23:35-37)
Notice again that a whole company of soldiers (or band) did various things to Jesus, including striking him on the head with a staff. This apparently occurred from various Roman soldiers. From this detail alone his face and head could have been beaten unrecognizably due to the swelling and blood from this:
The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. (Mark 15:16-20)
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face. (John 19:2,3)
Imagine the sharp piercing pain the Lord felt as the long needle-like thorn tips penetrated Jesus' scalp. Certainly, he must have bled profusely from the various wounds these thorns produced.
When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" (John 19:5)
Jesus Carried His Own Cross
Jesus carried his own cross for awhile:
Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). (John 19:17)
Jesus carried his own cross, yet other Scriptures implied something happened, for it also says Simon of Cyrene carried it:
As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. (Mat 27:32)
As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26)
When it actually became time for Jesus to carry his own cross to Calvary, he had already been up all night, endured multiple brutal beatings and a flogging. With the pain, loss of blood and lack of sleep, the Lord was in a severely weakened physical state. He started carrying the cross but was unable to carry the heavy weight under those circumstances. That's when the soldiers forced Simon to carry it behind Jesus. This implies that Jesus fell when he was trying to carry the cross, which means that he got dirt all over his bloody and bruised body. This adds to the horrible sight he was to look upon at this point and as he hung from the cross dying.
No Bones Were Broken,
But He Was
Pierced,
Crushed And Wounded
The spiritual benefits Jesus provided for YOU were bought at a GREAT price:
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa 53:5,6)
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. (Isa 53:10)
John adds these details:
These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced." (John 19:36,37)
Ponder this Old Testament Scripture given as he actually hung from the cross. (Note: his strength was gone):
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. (Psa 22:14-18)
At the cross site, Jesus was stripped of his clothes, which were divided up by casting lots among the soldiers:
And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. (Lk. 23:34)
Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. (Mark 15:23,24)
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. (John 19:23,24)
For His Great Thirst
He Was Given Vinegar
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. (John 19:28,29)
One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said. (Mark 15:36)
There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. (Mat 27:34-35)
Jesus Was All Alone
Judas betrayed him, the Eleven denied him and the heavenly Father forsook him:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? (Psa 22:1).
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" - which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mat 27:46)
He finally died on the cross:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! (Phil 2:5-8)
This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. (Acts 2:23)
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2)
Jesus Was Crushed and Disfigured Beyond Recognition
Of all the clear Scriptures already cited which show the terrible way the Lord Jesus was treated, none are more descriptive in an overall way than the following one:
Just as there were many who were appalled at him - his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness (Isa 52:14)
People who knew Jesus of Nazareth were appalled at his horrible looking appearance as he actually hung from the cross between those two thieves. Why? The same verse tell us the twofold reason: (1) his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and (2) his form marred beyond human likeness. After the Sanhedrin and the Roman soldiers got through with Jesus, he was bruised, lacerated, swollen and bloody beyond human likeness! He also had spit and dirt on his precious body! The Scripture from Isa. 52:14 alone destroys the myth portrayed by pictures or sculptures which present the Lord with only a few drops of blood and several lacerations from his beatings to the cross.
A Horrible Satanic Deception
What a horrible deception the devil has used to deceive millions of Christians regarding the incredible sufferings Jesus went through, before his hands and feet were nailed to the cross. Just think, he could have had twelve legions of angels come at any time to stop it:
Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Mat 26:53)
But if he would have stopped it, then all of mankind would be headed for eternal damnation in the lake of fire with no possible way to escape! Jesus was our only hope of redemption and he came through for us! Three days after his death on the cross, Jesus rose from the grave. JESUS IS NOW ALIVE! He has conquered death! Hallelujah - what a Savior we have in Jesus of Nazareth, who is coming back one day. Are YOU living in a way that is pleasing to him? Read the entire New Testament for yourself and learn what the incredible Savior wants from you, then put it into practice.
WARNING: No one knows what Jesus really looked like. Furthermore, don't kiss or worship our cartoon picture of how the Lord died for our sins. That would be idolatry, and He doesn't want that. Worship in spirit and in truth.
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