4. Meditations on the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ

 

Let us read, stop at times, meditate. Let each and everyone of us thank the Saviour for HE suffered all this … JUST for ME, personally.

Let us Pray:

 “We adore you O Lord and we bless you, because of your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.”

The Greeks never crucified any one, they used to think it too cruel a punishment, unlike the  Romans. The Greeks, did introduce it during the days of Alexander the Great. Meanwhile it was common practice in Syria, Egypt, Syracuse and Carthage, all under Roman influence.

The Romans used to crucify army deserters, thieves, prisoners of war and slaves. After the death of Herod the Great, historians tell us that 2,000 Jews were crucified on one day. As a general rule, Josephus Flavius tells us that the daily number of crucifixion was 500.

 

 It had become a normal practice and people accepted it as part of their life and fate. In the times of Spartacus, a total of 6,000 slaves were crucified at one go. They used to fix the upright, called the ‘stipes’ and have them ready. The convict had to carry on his back the horizontal beam, called ‘patibulum’ to the place of crucifixion. This ‘patibulum’ was originally used as a beam to bar the door, from the inside as a protection from robbers.

The uprights were fixed a distance of 210 kilometres (120 miles) from Capua to Rome.

 

So that the convicted person would not use the beam as an instrument of defence, they used to tie, bind their arms to the beam, besides, the convicted  were tied to each other.

In the case of Jesus, He was, the one at the back dragging after the two in front of Him. Along the way the victims would be swearing and speaking all type of foul language. Any extra or untimed move would affect the one at the back. Though we say that Jesus fell three times, yet, we do not know exactly how many times He actually fell.

Their feet were in turn tied to the beam, so any false or uncalculated move would mean a ‘fall’.

Let us meditate, and think…I should have been the one to be carrying the ‘patibulum’, because it is I who have committed so many sins, not Jesus.  Jesus took my place.  Do I ever stop to THANK the Lord Jesus for taking my place … whilst I keep on sinning.

Thank you, Jesus, help me to appreciate, not by paying lip service, BUT by stopping from sinning and offending YOU.