The most famous victim of crucifixion’s brutality is of course Jesus Christ, who famously suffered its ignominy at the hands of the regional Roman government in Palestine over 2000 years ago.
As a child I used to think that Jesus was the only one who was crucified. Then I found out about the two “thieves” executed with him. Well, I supposed then that three had suffered being nailed to a cross. I later found out that over time, thousands of people died by crucifixion in Ancient Rome. Back in those days, it was the method used to mete out capital punishment for criminals. Also it was considered a shameful way to die.
We may take for granted the cleaned up Sunday school version that shows Jesus there on the cross. But let me tell you, what Jesus endured on that terrible wooden structure was nothing short of horrific. His level of physical suffering was extreme, to put it simply.
Dwelling on what Christ went through on that cross causes me great distress. Even knowing he ultimately rose again does not diminish the sadness I feel when I am confronted with the vicious torture he endured. The Romans were famous for their brutality.
I’m not going to get into the specifics of that brutality here. There are plenty of other sites that can detail those things. But I will say that the kind of death that was poured out upon our sweet Lord Jesus was beyond savage, cruel, barbaric, and horrible. And he did that to provide us a path to salvation. It was the ultimate “necessary evil”. And he did it for love.
God bless his Holy name!
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