Tragedy and Triumph – Part four

Verse 12:18  The Sufferings

The sufferings of Christ were both mental and physicfal as the folowing out line will show

Mental

V 12:13. Mocking by rulers

V 16. Enclosed by assembly of the wicked

V 17. They stare upon me

V 18 Loss of all possessions

Physical

V 14. Complete exhausttion

V 15. Agonizing thirst the sorrow of death

V 16. Pierced hands and feet

V 17. All my bones

Why was it necessary that Jesus undergo such sufferings Could not sin be something less. These are the questions that come to us when we force ourselves to look dovely upon Calvaries terrible scene. But God has decided these very agonies of His only begotten Son to be essential nothing else would serve the same purpose Jesus must be the lamb slun from the foundation of the world. The measure of the sufferings of Christ is the measure of God’s hatred of sin our natural estimation of these things must be molded by long meditation and experience so that God’s mind may be in us. The cross tells us what God thinks of unredeemed man of how far even sinful flesh removes us from His full communication Between God and us there is a great gulf fixed and the cross of Christ is the only bridge.

We contemplate Christ on the cross Others may have suffered more physical pain or at least for a longer time. But no man has ever been as sensitive as intelligent is loving as Christ consequently his moral anguish must have been horrible.

Verse 2. Strong bulls of Bashan an a lord me (R S V). Bashan signifies fruitful this extremely fertile area east of the Jordan was noted for its excellent herds (Ezek. 39:18 Amos 1:1) Live stock were sent there for fattening there the bull attained its full power and vigor (Deut 32:11). These brutes are remarkable for their proud fierce and sudden manner they are fitting symbols of the antagonists of our Lord Well clothed and fed pampered with all luxury stout and strong they gazed with contempt upon the poor and naked and weakened frame of Jesus.

Thirty pieces of silver was the legal price of a slate gored by an ox (Exod.2:32). It was also the price of Christ (Matt. 27.3), the “slave” of God (Isa. 12:1), gored by the strong bulls of Bashan.

Verse 13: “They opened wide their months” (R.S.V) . . .” as aratening and roaring lion”: Literally, ” ravening” means “tearing to pieces.” Compare the figures of speech in Lam. 2:15, 16; 3:16. The lion’s deceitful croaching, sudden spring, fearful roar, and rending of the prey give another representation of the bestiality of Christ’s enemies:

“My soul is among lion” … even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrow, and their tongue a sharp sword” (Psa. 57:1).

The “tearing to pieces” reminds us of the cruel and inhuman Roman lash, totally different from the Jewish whip. We are told by one authority:

“The Roman lash was often multi-thonged and inserted with pieces of lead brass, or pointed bones so that when wielded with force, it tore away large chunks of flesh, exposing veins, inner muscles, and sinews”.

Strong men often died under the Roman scourge, even before they reached crucifixion. For others, it was called the “halfway death.”

“Crucifixion probably originated in Asia Minor, being adopted by the Persians and Phoenicians who also impaled, burned, or boiled their victims in oil . . .Crucifixion reached Europe in the third century B.C. … and was adopted by the Romans, who believed it would be a strong deterrent to crime or rebellion”. (“The Christadelphian,” June, 1967, P. 2:44). It is significant that this Psalm 22 was composed 700 years before crucifixion made its appearance in the Roman World!

The cross on which Christ was crucified was not, as is often depicted, a single structure. It was in two parts, the upright “stipes” and the horizontal “patibulum” which was hinged on the “stipes” at the time of execution. Christ probably carried the “patibulum” (which would have weighed about 100 pounds alone) to Golgotha.

For our sins he groaned, he bled, Beneath the accursed load.”

The “stipes” was already fixed in the ground: permanently erected stakes punctuated the land-scape of Roman-occupied Jerusalem. (Ibid.)

When Jesus arrived at the scene of execution he was laid on his back upon the cross-piece and nails were driven into his wrists. (The Roman nail was a spake, approximately 11 inches long and 3 inches broad at the head.) Then he was raised to his feet, backed against the stake, and lifted into position. The legs were bent and spikes transfixed the ankles to eh stake.

Verse 14: “I am poured out lie water”:

“My life-blood is worth no more to these men than so much water: behold how casually they pour it out!”

“All my bones are out of point”: “Bones” may signify “fibers” in the wider sense of ligaments and muscles and bones. When the beam to which the victim’s hands were nailed was lifted and affixed to the upright stake, the sudden jerking would shake the body with terrific violence. The ligaments would be torn and even separated: the muscles stretched and weakened and cramped. An excruciatingly painful weight would be thrown upon the hands and wrists and shoulders.

“My heart is like wax: It is melted in the midst of my bowls”: Now came the ultimate in physical exhaustion; here was the reason that crucifixion was considered the most agonizing form of death possible, “The strain on the heart was tremendous, for the enormous traction of the arms fixed the chest in full inspiration (i.e., in breathing). The only way the crucified man could exhale was by taking his weight on his feet, pressing down with his legs to raise the body. Muscular cramps and exhaustion finally made this impossible and the man died” (Donald Styles, “Behold My Servant,” P.9).

Verse 15: “My strength is dried up like a potsherd”: Christ feels himself to be a broken, useless, and scorched vessel of earth filled with impurities. While the “potsherds” of the earth strive together and with their Maker (Isa. 15:9: Prov. 26:23), for all men are no better than common earthen pots, this singular “potsherd” strove to the end against his inherent weakness to gain the victory over sin on behalf of his fellows.

“My tongue cleareth to my jaws”:

As a result of loss of blood, exposure, heat, and fever the sufferer that by now become severely dehydrated. “I thirst,” he cried (John 19:25). Those who have lived through grueling deprivations testify that extreme thirst is the most intolerable of all sufferings. The dryness of Christ’s mouth and lips and tongue was such that his speech was practically unintelligible (V. 1).

“Thou hast brought me into the dust of death”: Still, as in the earlier part of his prayer (Vv. 3, 9, 10). Christ fully and firmly acknowledges that his Father and no one else has brought him to these straits, and that his Father is holy and just in so doing.

“The dust of death”: The great counterpart of Psa. 22 says of the suffering Messiah:

“He poured out his soul (life-blood) unto death” (Isa. 53:12).

Othre psalms enhance our conception of this moment:

“The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me: I suffered distress and anguish” (116:3, R.S.V.).

(This from a Psalm that formed part of the traditional Passover ritual which had been on his lips only the previous night.) And again:

“The terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me” (55:1,5).

Verse 16: “For dogs bare compassed me”: In the bulls and lions of Verses 12 and 13 we may detect reference to the “mighty ones” of Israel, the secular and religious leaders who held Jesus in contempt and engineered his execution. But here we see reference made to the Gentiles, and commoners at that the Roman soldiers who mocked and scourged him, and led him at last to his death. The dogs of the ancient world were no better than wolves of jackals, wild canines that ran in packs and refused domestication. Dogs were contemptible and cowardly: they were “fierce” when their prey was cornered and helpless, ravenous in their appetites, and above all vile and abominable.

“The assembly of the nicked bare Unclosed me”: The word “edah” means an appointed meeting,” perhaps the Sanhedrin. Does Christ see the Gentile dogs as only the ignorant instruments of his real enemies on the Great Council of Israel?

“They pierced my hands and my feet”: This is the primary figure of speech it would appear, upon which crucifixion is based. The psalmist feels himself to be a helpless victim of a vicious dog pack: they are encircling him, sinking their sharp fangs into his exposed limbs, tearing and rending his flesh while his life-blood flows out like water.

So it is with Christ, but the “fangs” are not teeth: they are iron spikes and the staff a spear (2 Sam, 23:7).

“And they shall look upon him whom they have pierced” (Zech. 12:10: John 19:37: Rev, 1:7). This is true not only of the Jews, but also of all men. Even we have crucified Christ! Our personal sins were not literally laid upon Christ, causing him to pay the penalty of death as popular theology professes. Nevertheless, there is a sense, more general perhaps, in which it may be rightly said that we have “pierced” Christ: Had there been no sin in the world, and were we not as we are, there would have been no need for a representative sacrifice. The guilt must be ours; it is certainly not Christ’s! And we must mourn fervently for our weaknesses which lead us into sin; our needs have brought Christ to the cross. What a sobering thought!