Today's Journal
THE CRUCIFIXION
Cole Feix, minister and author wrote:“On that day, the innocent Lamb of God was slain on a cross. I always think of Bruce Shelley’s great book Church History in Plain Language for its stunning first line: “Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event the humiliation of its god.” I’m not sure we even grasp the depth of truth in this statement.
Crucifixion was a slave’s death. If you were a Roman citizen, you were immune from such a fate. No Roman would even discuss crucifixion, much less undergo it. And yet, over the course of the Roman Empire, more than 30,000 slaves were crucified. That’s five people a day, every day, for more than 16 years. Jesus was one of those.
Crucifixion was a scandal in the ancient world. The brutality was exceeded only by the humiliation. It’s no exaggeration to say that on Good Friday Jesus took the worst the world had to offer.”
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” Jesus