I was reading the last three chapters of John to my kids last night. It is obviously the account of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Two things caught my attention that were kind of related... Forgive the length of this post, but I am dispatching today, so I have more time to write!
The first thing: when they wanted Pilate to take the bodies down, Pilate had to make sure that they were dead first. He dispatched his soldiers to do the task. From what I understand, usually they would break the legs which would cause the crucified person not to be able to lift himself up anymore and would then suffocate to death. However, for Scripture to be fulfilled, they saw that Jesus was dead already. There was this completely dead body on this cross, just hanging there. Some people would like to make the claim that Jesus was not really dead all the way, but was just in an unconscious state and was revived later in the tomb. But this Roman soldier that was given the task of making sure Jesus was dead, recognized that this was a dead body on the tree.
As I was picturing this scene, I just see this man coming up to the cross. He sees the body just hanging there. There's no more efforts by this One in the middle to lift His body up to support His weight any more, like the thieves on His sides are struggling. They are probably both looking at this soldier coming over to them - knowing that what he is going to do will put an end to their lives. I doubt they had much hope of escape at that point, but this man approaching them would have put an end to any glimmer of hope they did have left. What was going through the mind of the thief that had rejected Christ just a little while earlier? Was he begging this soldier to spare him? Did he still have the strength to scream for terror? What was going through the mind of the thief that had been mocking Christ, but then later repented and was given a promise to be with Christ in paradise? Did he welcome the soldier? Did it put a smile on his face to see him? I wonder...
But the soldier approaches Christ and sees the body is dead. He walks up to It with his spear and with complete disrespect for Who it was, he jabs the spear into the side of this corpse. The body doesn't move, but blood and water come out. If only this soldier knew that that blood was shed for the remission of his very sins. I started contemplating once again about the cross, and how Jesus blood was shed for me and for my sin. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! I am just as vile as the thief that rejected Christ. I am just as vile as the thief that for nothing good that he had done was promised to be with Christ in paradise!
Hallelujah though that after that, we know that three days later, the tomb was empty! Three days later the question was asked, Why do you seek the Living among the dead? Three days later, God manifested Himself in glorified flesh! We are told that He appeared then to 10 disciples (Judas having died and Thomas being absent).
The second thing that stuck out to me was Thomas. When he was told about Christ appearing to the 10, his response was, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." Those wounds, including the same wound in His side that the soldier put there, are the same wounds that were put there for Thomas's sin too.
I think we can look at Thomas in light of salvation: Until a man sees the wounds in Jesus that were caused by his own sins, he will not believe. It's like the man that talked to Shannon Young after having seen the movie, The Passion of the Christ, and Shannon asked him if he understood the movie. His answer was, I don't get why they were beating this guy just because of His preaching... Shannon had the great opportunity to explain that the wounds were for us, not just because of His preaching.
In our lives though too, we need to look at the wounds that we put into Christ. Like the Roman soldier who with complete disregard, thrust his spear into the side of the Creator of the universe, we also, with complete disregard to the Creator have rebelled against Him. We need to see the wounds; we need to know the resurrected Savior.
"Man of sorrows" - What a name for the Son of God, who came to reclaim ruined sinners! Hallelujah! What a Savior!
