When was the last time you thought about how much Jesus suffered physically – and emotionally – in the days before His crucifixion?

In Mark 14 (AMPC), Jesus (the night before He would die for our sins), was “struck with terror,” and His soul was “overwhelmed with grief – so that it almost kills Me!” Dreading what lay ahead, He pleaded, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42 ESV).

He prayed with so much anguish that “His sweat became like great clots of blood” (Luke 22:44 AMPC).

His emotions were real. Raw. Intense.

A short time later, Jesus was betrayed by Judas (one of His own disciples) and arrested. His closest friends deserted Him, afraid they’d also be arrested (Mark 14).

Read (and think about) how the guards mocked Jesus and spat upon Him – repeatedly. How they wove a crown of thorns and shoved it on His head. How they struck Jesus, causing the thorns to penetrate deeper into His scalp. Notice how the guards punched Jesus (God!) with their fists and slapped His face again and again. How false witnesses lied about Him.

 “And when they had bound Jesus, they took Him away [violently] and handed Him over to Pilate” who had Jesus scourged (Mark 15:1, 15 AMPC). They beat Him with a whip containing sharp pieces of bone and metal designed to rip as much flesh as possible.

And then they crucified Jesus. They pounded nails through His hands (or wrists) and feet and hung Him, naked, on a cross. He hung there, in excruciating pain, for hours until He died. For us – for you. (Luke 23).

It’s hard to perceive the extent of the agony and humiliation Jesus endured under such brutality.

In His humanity, Jesus, the Son of God, our Savior, felt each slap, each insult, each thorn, each swing of the whip, each nail. He endured the suffering of hanging on the cross and struggling for every breath as He scraped His raw back up and down on the rough wooden cross. Though He was God in the flesh, His “God-ness” didn’t spare Him a second of the torture.

Not even the worst moment. When our wretched, putrid sins was placed on Jesus, God (the Father), turned His face away. “My God, my God,” Jesus cried in agony, “why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34 ESV). We’ll never know how incredibly alone He felt at that moment.

Jesus did nothing to deserve the shame, suffering and sorrow He endured.

And we did nothing to deserve His willingness to endure that shame, suffering and sorrow.

But I’m eternally thankful He did. Aren’t you?

What do you think?

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this post. (Others might also benefit from your comment.)

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