Stanley Simpson

Trust in You – Entry #1 of 4

The next song for my Blog was written by Lauren Daigle, Michael Farren, and Paul Mabury and first released in 2015. A link to Lauren Daigle performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

Trust In You

Letting go of every single dream
I lay each one down at Your feet
Every moment of my wandering
Never changes what You see
I try to win this war
I confess, my hands are weary, I need Your rest
Mighty warrior, king of the fight
No matter what I face You’re by my side
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You
Truth is, You know what tomorrow brings
There’s not a day ahead You have not seen
So let all things be my life and breath
I want what You want Lord and nothing less
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You
I will trust in You
You are my strength and comfort
You are my steady hand
You are my firm foundation
The rock on which I stand
Your ways are always higher
Your plans are always good
There’s not a place where I’ll go
You’ve not already stood
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You

I will begin the first entry in this Blog by analyzing the following section of the song.

Quite a step is being taken in the first line of this song. We all have dreams for our future and some of these dreams we may have had for a long time. Maybe these dreams are about families, jobs, houses, vehicles, friends, travel, sports, singing, or even changing the world. We work hard to fulfill our dreams and what we may believe to be our destiny. When I stop and think about that line, I think wow; can I really do this? Can I really give up and let go of my dreams? This is what keeps me going many days, I need a target to march towards in my life.

I don’t think the writers are suggesting we forget our dreams or walk away from our cherished aspirations, I interpret it as putting all of these in the hands of Jesus. It is hard to let go of some things, because we sometimes feel we are the only ones who can control the situation. The problem is that we only think we are in control. We need to give everything to Jesus since he is the only one who knows and controls the future. Jesus says to give our burdens to him and our dreams are somewhat of a burden if you think about it.

Everyday we push ourselves and carry the burden of our dreams and goals, but there are many days when we wonder if we can ever be where we want to be in our lives. We may have different jobs, we may have dysfunctional families, that house may be too expensive; so our dreams and our paths to those dreams get altered along the way. Sometimes it almost feels as if we are wandering aimlessly down an unknown path as we encounter one roadblock after another. We know the path we want to take to fulfill our dreams, but Jesus knows the path we need to take and what we will accomplish.

We fight our battles every day, we face the struggles of life in an ever changing never stopping world. We try to be strong for ourselves and for those who depend on us, but too many times we just get weary from the fight. We now confess that we just can’t do this anymore. It is at this point, that we finally allow Jesus to take our burdens. He is the mighty king who can conquer anybody and anything. He is the one who rose from the dead, the one who took away our sins, and the one who has prepared an eternal home for us. He has never been and never will be defeated, he alone is omnipotent. He is the warrior we need to fight and win our battles for us and is always right beside us waiting for us to let him take control of our lives so our earthly battles can be won.

Click Here to See Lauren Daigle Performing Trust In You

Redeemed – Entry #4 of 4

This is the last Blog entry for this song and I will start a new song with my next entry. Here are the lines to be covered to wrap up this song:

Because I don’t have to be the old man inside of me
‘Cause his day is long dead and gone
Because I’ve got a new name, a new life I’m not the same
And a hope that will carry me home
Chorus
Chorus
Oh God I’m not who I used to be
Jesus I’m not who I used to be
‘Cause I am redeemed
Thank God, redeemed

As humans we, with the exception of Adam and Eve, were all born with a sinful nature, which is also referred to as the old man(person) inside of us. This sinful nature has a tendency to make us think in a more selfish manner, perhaps because we do not know what the future brings. While letting this tendency control us, we are focused more on the here and now because we do not have the hope for or the knowledge of an eternal life. Once we accept Christ as our savior, we do know what ultimately lies ahead for us. We may not know what tomorrow or the next day may bring, but we do know what eternity brings,

Christ left us with the Holy Spirit to help guide us and comfort us. Will we still sin and lose our way at times? Most certainly. We no longer let the old inner self drive our lives and that was the only driver we had until we gained salvation. We have a better understanding of right and wrong, what is expected of us in our lives, what eternity holds for us; and the old inner self is no longer in control of our destiny.

We all get a new name. I am no longer just Stan Simpson, I am now a Child of God and have an eternal plan laid out for me. I am a new person with a new focus and also know that as I get off the path God has chosen for me that I will hear that still small voice reminding me of where I am and where I need to be. As a Christian, I am never alone and always have a companion in my heart and in my walk that will help guide me along the way.

We are given hope knowing that whatever challenges we face in this life; we know we have an eternal home that has been prepared for us. We will still experience frustrations, heartbreaks, rejection, and failures; but we know now what really lies ahead for us. Keeping our eyes on our future home and the gift of eternal life will help us through the travails. The journey is not going to be easy for any of us and it will be more difficult for some, but the rewards are great and are waiting for us.

We need to thank Jesus everyday for what he has done for us, the peace he brings, and the new home that is just waiting for us. It is because of his death giving us redemption, that all of this is possible. He took away all of our sins and past mistakes, and just asks for our acceptance and love. We can’t run from our past and we will probably not forget our past mistakes, but we can know that whatever happened in our past has now been forgiven. We just need to focus on the bright future he has planned for us.

Redeemed – Entry #3 of 4

This Blog entry will address the following lines, the next Blog will complete this song:

All my life I have been called unworthy
Named by the voice of my shame and regret
But when I hear You whisper, “Child lift up your head”
I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet

Do you ever feel unworthy? Perhaps we have been called unworthy as the song states, but perhaps we are the ones who tell ourselves we are unworthy. I believe we have a tendency to equate failure with unworthiness. By definition, unworthy means not deserving of attention or respect, not deserving of acceptance, and not suitable. People often feel they are unworthy because of failures. Maybe we did make a mistake on our job, does that mean we are unworthy of that job? We may feel as if we did a bad job as a parent, does that mean we are unworthy of being a parent? Our last relationship may have ended in an ugly way, does that mean we are unworthy of a positive lasting relationship? More of these questions and doubts come from inside us and from Satan as he tries to discourage us. We berate ourselves over what we have done wrong, where we have failed, and therefore give Satan a stronger hold over us. He is always there speaking in our ear and telling us how unworthy we are and reminding us of all of our failures. He does whatever he can to get us to listen to him and his voice of shame and regret and to keep us from listening to the Holy Spirit Christ has given us. It doesn’t mean we have lost our faith in Christ, it means we are trying to drive our lives instead of looking to our Savior for guidance, support, and love. We are hanging our heads as we go through our woe is me life perspective. The net is we end up serving the wrong master, even though our soul belongs to Jesus based on our salvation. All of this is so easy to say and we all end up in this place at some time, but how do we get out?

Once again, the songwriters tell how Christ reaches out to us and reminds us that he is always there. He is the one who whispers in our ear and tell us to be strong and hold up our head. This may be a whisper, but it is one that comes across with power. Our Savior and Comforter tells us to lift up our head and remember what he did for us so we could have eternal happiness and reward. Note that we are called his child, we are always one of his; regardless of the situation we are facing. This loud and resonating whisper brings us to our knees as we remember that we are always a work in progress and will never achieve perfection in our physical lives. God’s plan for us takes us through this lifetime on earth, he has things he wants us to do. There are so many things in his plan that requires action from us. He is always preparing and training us for the tasks ahead. Maybe he wants us to bring a neighbor to Christ, perhaps he brings a stranger to us that he wants us to help, maybe he wants us to be a stronger light to all of those around us. He could be looking at us to work in the church, to be part of missions, to work with children, or work in a service capacity. We need to always remember we may be the only Jesus some people will ever see. The world watches us every day to see how we respond as Christians. Our actions and our words determine the strength of our light in this world. To be what God wants us to be, we need to grow our faith and witness every day. I know the above is a daunting path but think of what Christ has done for us and what lies ahead of us. Are the expectations of God greater than the reward? I don’t think so.

Redeemed – Entry #2 of 4

I will take a look at the following lines in this 2nd entry for Redeemed:

Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “son
Stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off these heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
I am redeemed
I’m redeemed

So, as we fight through our shackles and battles to get away from the dark cloud and imprisonment that seems to hang over us, we seem to dwell on the past mistakes we made and how we could have done things differently; we fight these battles and memories day after day. Jesus offers us encouragement. The song says he reaches out to us, he doesn’t wait for us to reach out to him. He reaches out to us as being his children, in this case the writer references son merely because the writer is a male.

Jesus is aware of the shackles we have and the history behind each one. He sees us fight the battles every day and expend so much effort to try and get free of our bondage. Our Savior reminds us that he has already fought the battle for us and that as he died on the cross, all of our sins had been forgiven and that we would have eternal life with him. Jesus knew we were not strong enough to fight temptation and fight Satan, so he fought that fight for us by dying on the cross and taking away all of our sins forever. He is telling us that he has prepared our eternal home and we just need to accept him in our hearts and rely on him via the Holy Spirit to guide us in every step we take. We need to keep our focus on the future he holds for us instead of the present and past that are weighing us down.

Through Him, we are redeemed, we are saved from the bondage of sin. Jesus paid the price for our sins in exchange for our freedom, this is what being redeemed is all about. Moses, via God, freed the Israelites from physical bondage in Egypt. He and the Israelites incurred the wrath of Pharaoh, but in the end their physical bondage went away. Only Christ can free us from our self-imposed shackles.

Because of this redemption, we can shake off these heavy burdensome shackles. These shackles carry immeasurable weight, yet we are now able to not just take off the burden; we are able to shake it off. Along with the removal of these bonds, Jesus wipes away after dark spot and every deep dark recess from us and basically allows us to start anew. Every stain on our soul has been removed and, in his eyes, we are perfect since we no longer have the sin we carried. We are no longer who we used to be. Will we sin again? Absolutely. Will we have dark days? Yes we will. The difference is that we have someone we can reach out to in order to provide comfort. We have a future that no one can take away from us. We know the day is coming when we will know only pure happiness, we now have help along our journey. We are redeemed when we accept Christ.

Redeemed – Entry #1 of 4

The next song for my Blog was written by Benji Cowart, Michael Weaver, and Michael David Weaver and first released in 2012. A link to Big Daddy Weave performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

Redeemed

Seems like all I can see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last
Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “son
Stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off these heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
I am redeemed
I’m redeemed
All my life I have been called unworthy
Named by the voice of my shame and regret
But when I hear You whisper, “Child lift up your head”
I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
Because I don’t have to be the old man inside of me
‘Cause his day is long dead and gone
Because I’ve got a new name, a new life I’m not the same
And a hope that will carry me home
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off these heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off these heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
Oh God I’m not who I used to be
Jesus I’m not who I used to be
‘Cause I am redeemed
Thank God, redeemed

I will begin the first entry in this Blog by analyzing the first four lines of the song.

Seems like all I can see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last

Whenever we read/see/hear the news today, it is all about the negative things going on throughout the world. It is about death, illness, destruction, family issues, disease, and on and on. It is almost to the point that there is very little time for the news to dedicate to anything good.

With all of this going on, it is not wonder that we start thinking about our lives and the struggles we have. It is easy to focus on what could have been, mistakes we made, things we should have done, relationships or family situations that went wrong; you can almost feel as if your life is as negative as the news. We put ourselves in a pit and struggle everyday to get out of that ever-deepening hole. It is these ghosts of the past that seemingly appear whenever we are alone or in the darkness of the night; these unwanted spirits torment us whenever we are vulnerable.

Every time we try to move forward, it is as if we have a shackle and chain attached to us and holding us back. Perhaps we came out of a failed marriage or relationship and we are scared to open ourselves to being hurt again. Our emotions are raw, the hurt is deep, and we question whether or not we will ever love again. We are sometimes so cautious that it is difficult for us to engage in a new relationship because we don’t want to feel that pain and emptiness again. The fears of being hurt are a shackle that holds us back.

Maybe we had a friend or friends that let us down. The friend was someone we trusted and someone to whom we had poured out our soul and deepest secrets. It is a friend who we trusted with our life. This was a person who was always there for us when we needed them, but one day that friend betrayed us. We may never understand why that betrayal happened, but we feel like an outcast and find it difficult to become strong friends with anyone ever again. This fear of fully trusting someone else is another shackle that we might carry.

Many of us might have a child who did not turn out the we way we wanted and expected. The relationship between parent and child is strained as the parent perhaps watches that child make one bad decision after another. The mom and/or dad feel the pain of their child and just pray for the day that child gets back on the right path for their life. Maybe the relationship between family members is not what it should be, but the love and pain are there nevertheless. This feeling of hopelessness may be yet another shackle we have added to our lives.

There are many other shackles and chains which might be attached to us that are maybe related to jobs, poor experiences at churches, feeling as if we are different in some way, or maybe just generally feeling like a failure in whatever we do.

The shackles we carry weigh us down and impact our lives every day. I don’t know that one shackle is bigger or heavier than another and I don’t know if the quantity of shackles makes a difference. What I do believe is that having only one of these attached to us is probably all it takes to drag us into the pit of darkness, failure, and even depression.

We ask ourselves, how long is this going to last? Am I ever going to escape this feeling and have the seemingly happy life that others seem to have? Is there anyone I can trust again? Is there anyone out there for me?
The good news is that we have hope and I will discuss this hope in the second blog entry for this song.

Click Here to Watch Redeemed Sung by Big Daddy Weave

When He Was on the Cross – Entry #7 of 7

This is the last Blog entry for this song and covers the following lines:

He knew me, yet he loved me
He whose glory makes the heavens shine
So unworthy of such mercy
Yet when he was on the cross
I was on his mind.
Yet when he was on the cross
I was on his mind.

I have often heard the question posed, “do we ever truly know someone?”; and it is a good question to ponder. When we say we know someone, I believe we are basing our opinions on the words, experiences, actions, and emotions of the person that we think we know. Even with all of this knowledge of someone, aren’t we often surprised by something they say or do? I do believe we know the person by an earthly or societal definition, but we really do not know their heart. My view is that we only know what people want us to know. I know that after forty years of marriage, I still do things that are a surprise to my wife. When the song says “He knew me”, I believe it is referring to Jesus really knowing our heart and being the only one who really knows us.

We may all have something in the deep recesses of our heart that we have never shared with anyone. Maybe it is an action that we took, an action we would like to take, something we want to say, something we did say that we shouldn’t have, a feeling or prejudice we have, and the list goes on. Some of things we are ashamed of and really don’t want others to know about. It doesn’t mean we are bad people, it is just that our lives are never a completely open book. Yet when Jesus looked at the crowd that day and when he looks at us today, he sees all of these thoughts deep inside us. In spite of him knowing our deepest darkest secrets, he still loved the crowd that day and he still loves each of us. The good news is that he died on the cross that day so that our sins would be forgiven, all we have to do is accept him as our Lord and Savior. He doesn’t care who we were or who we are, he only cares about us belonging to him and spending eternity with him. So, despite all of our faults, he still loves us. He accepts us with unconditional forgiveness, and he is the only one who can respond in this manner since he alone can show such mercy. Despite all of the things we have done wrong in our lives and being completely unworthy of being with Christ, he overlooks it all and prepares us a place in eternity with him. Yes, we were unworthy of this mercy he has given us, but he forgave us and loved us anyway.

Jesus is the Light of the World and his love and forgiveness brought light into the spiritually dark world. Through his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension; Jesus brought a shining light to earth and to heaven. All who accept him will have that spiritual light which will abide with them for eternity. He expects us to carry that light to the world as he carried it for us. The witnesses at the transfiguration were able to see just how bright the spiritual light of Jesus would be in a dark world. The light of Jesus reflects the true glory of the Father. The glory of the Father means absolute truth, complete love, greatness, splendor, and honor. We can see all of this in Christ and we will be part of that glory once we join him in our heavenly home.

The song closes with the chorus sung twice and therefore a strong reminder that regardless of who we are or what we have done, he still loves us and we still are and have always been on his mind.

The first entry for the next song will be posted later this week.

When He Was on the Cross – Entry #6 of 7

Today I want to review the following lines of the song:

Though his eyes were on the crowd that day
He looked ahead in time
For when he was on the cross
I was on his mind

Jesus was hanging on the cross in pain that fateful day. He was between two criminals with the crowd jeering at him, but he was able to block all of this out as he focused on the next steps in the Father’s mission for him.

As Jesus looked across the crowd, I don’t believe he saw a mass of people. I believe he saw every face, every heart, and every emotion. He saw the hatred of those who had scorned him his entire life, joy on the faces of those who were just tired of hearing what they believed to be false teachings of a false king, and also those who came just to see the crucifixions and the suffering and didn’t really care who was on the crosses. A lot of these people were the ones yelling “crucify him.”

Maybe most of the people fell into groups above, but there were also the people who knew him and loved him. He saw sadness on the faces of the people whom he healed and given a much better quality of life. Some of these were the people who were once lame, once blind, once invalid, and even once dead. Those who truly loved Jesus such as his family, especially his mother Mary, had watched Him grow up and now see him leave this earth so young and in such agony. His disciples had been with Him almost 24-7 for three years and He had been their leader and friend. All of those who loved him were probably devastated and wondering how they could go on with their lives. They did not truly understand that he was coming back, even though he had told them He would return.

While he saw the faces, perhaps he was looking at the future of each person as well as his part in each of their lives to-date and what was ahead for each of them. Jesus may have shed tears of sadness for leaving them distraught, but he also knew what tomorrow would bring for each one there. He knew his purpose and perhaps even shed some tears of joy because of the future he was preparing for all of those who loved him and would accept him as their Savior. Jesus knew this was the most painful part of this journey, but it was just a blink of an eye in the Father’s grand plan. Jesus knew that he would be rising from the grave in three days. He would calm the fears of those loved ones he left, wipe their tears away, and secure their future. He saw the stone being rolled away from the garden tomb, the resurrection, surprising his followers, ascending into heaven, and preparing a place for us.

I often see paintings depicting what it might be like when we enter heaven’s gates. My favorites are ones showing the people falling into the arms of Jesus as they start life anew. I can’t imagine standing there in the arms of Jesus, he died a painful death for that embrace.

When he was on the cross, I was on his mind.

When He Was on the Cross – Entry #5 of 7

Thorns were on his head
The blood was on his scarlet robe
And stained it crimson red

Jesus was referred to as the king of the Jews and the soldiers mocked him by putting a crown of thorns on his head, just wanting to add to his humiliation. The crown of thorns also added one more area of pain, another source of bleeding, and torture for Jesus to endure. The people even bowed to him in a mocking manner to try and make him feel as if He were the lowest being on earth. Little did these captors realize that this crown would be replaced by a crown of glory when Jesus became the King of kings and Lord of lords. They did not realize that one day every knee would bow and every tongue confess him to be the true King.

It is interesting to me that the crown was made from a plant that did not even exist until Adam and Eve sinned while in the Garden of Eden. As a result of their sin, they were told they would have thorns and thistles in their fields of crops. Thorns originated after that first sin and have now been woven into a crown of thorns for the Savior who had the power to forgive sins. A little irony….

There is often confusion over whether the robe of Jesus was purple or scarlet. Two of the writers of the gospels portrayed it as scarlet and two reported it as purple. It is most likely that the robe placed on Jesus was an old faded robe and it would be difficult to tell if the robe, when new, was either scarlet or purple. A faded robe, with the red being the core color, could appear to be a different color depending on the age of the robe and perhaps even the lighting. It is unlikely that Jesus would have been given a new purple robe since that is what was worn by leaders such as Pontius Pilate. It is also unlikely that a soldier would have given up a new scarlet robe. So a faded robe is the most likely scenario and thus the challenge of distinguishing the proper color. I know that I find it challenging at times, to determine the true original color of some of my favorite and very worn t-shirts.

Putting the color of the robe aside, the most important point is regardless of the color of the robe, it was stained with the blood of our Savior. He had blood flowing from his merciless whipping as well as blood flowing down his face from the crown of thorns. We probably are not even aware of any other wounds Jesus might have received along the way as he carried the bar of the cross. Perhaps his shoulders bled from the carrying the weight of the crosspiece, maybe his hands were bleeding because of the roughness of the wood, perhaps he fell and caused yet another injury, and perhaps he had wounds as a result of items thrown by the unruly crowd. Factoring in what we know for sure and other potential injuries, his blood was flowing onto the robe that had been placed upon him. I am thinking this was already a heavy robe and it was getting even heavier with the blood and sweat of Jesus and thus making his burden even greater.

Parts of the robe were gradually absorbing the freely flowing blood and soaking all the way through the robe. Fresh blood is typically described as a crimson color, so the faded purple/scarlet robe was slowly becoming crimson reflecting the location of the wounds that had been inflicted.

Hopefully I have now set the stage for the wonderful message coming in the next few lines of the song.

When He Was on the Cross – Entry #4 of 7

This Blog entry covers the following two lines:

I was on his mind
A look of love was on his face

Reflecting back on my last Blog, it is still so difficult to imagine the suffering Christ endured solely for us.What is on your mind today?

If you are like me, you have so many things you are thinking about and so many things going on; that it is hard to focus on what needs to get done right now, what can be done later today, and what can be pushed off until tomorrow or even later. Our activities and our thoughts are often driven by family, other people, our jobs, illness, daily news, our to-do items, and the list goes on. Many times we have trouble sleeping because our mind is constantly on and thinking about what we didn’t get done today, what we forgot to do, and what we need to do tomorrow. Maybe some of us are enduring physical pain and are struggling just to make it through each day until we hopefully feel better and get well. In all of these situations, it is very challenging to maintain our focus because of all of these issues and distractions.

Jesus was on the cross and his body was wracked with pain and knowing that his time was coming to an end. Through it all, each of us as individuals were on his mind; note the song says “I” was on his mind. He knew that what he was doing was for each of us, he had nothing to gain since he knew he would soon be heading back home after another short period on this land. Even without any personal gain, and despite all of the pain; we were still the most important thing to him and overcame all of this and focused on each of us.

One of the amazing thoughts put forward in this song is that the next line, “A look of love was on his face.” It would be easy to look down and show anger and hatred to those who were laughing at him, mocking him, and those who participated in nailing him to the cross. Jesus loves everyone regardless of what they do to him or say about him. He only knows love since He is love. I wonder how some of the mockers felt as they looked into the face of Jesus and saw that love in his eyes, perhaps many of them felt ashamed and turned away. Perhaps some went to Mary or a follower of Jesus to find out more about why they followed Him, why they loved Him, and why Jesus looked as if He even loved those who had tortured him and were now killing him. Maybe one of those who had been ridiculing him accepted him that day as the Son of God and the only way to eternal life.

It was not the words of Jesus that day that grabbed the attention of the people, it was the lack of words and the Look of Love.

When He Was on the Cross – Entry #3 of 7

This Blog entry is focused on the single line below since I believe it is part of a powerful foundation for the rest of the song.

For when He was on the cross

We can see pictures of people on crosses, with many of these pictures based on crucifixions that took place during Roman times. In our society today, we seldom see people subjected to this type of torture and prolonged agony.
Crucifixion was designed to be gruesome, humiliating, painful, torturous, and filled with excruciating pain. The Romans seemed to have perfected the process over a 400-500 year period until Constantine stopped the practice in the 4th century. Crucifixion was mostly used on slaves, disgraced soldiers, Christians, and foreigners; but rarely on Roman citizens.

Those on the cross might live a few hours or a few days depending on their strength and how the crucifixion was conducted. It was common for the people to be stripped completely naked before the process began, which added to the humiliation. Sometimes the person may have been whipped or beaten, sometimes they had to carry the horizontal piece they would be nailed upon, perhaps there was a small seat on the upright beam, or perhaps a small footrest; any/all of these helped to determine how long a person would survive. Note that the horizontal piece of the cross may have weighed as much as 100 pounds and a complete cross could have weighed as much as 300 pounds.

Imagine the blood that was flowing from the beatings and due to the nails driven into the hands/wrists and feet. The nails were not like the nails we use to build houses, they were more like spikes. They were typically made of iron and were 4’” – 6” long. Larger 5”-7” spikes were probably used to nail the feet to the cross. All of these nails were square and approximately 3/8” in diameter, which is over twice the diameter of the nails used in residential construction today. The nails said to have been driven into the hands, were typically driven between the two bones in the forearm just above the wrist. Nails placed in the hands would probably come out quickly due to pressure and the hand would have split through the fingers. The Greek word used for hand, actually indicates and area below the elbow to the hand.

In addition to the extreme loss of blood, the victim was enduring the extreme pain caused by trying to support their bodies as they tried to breathe. Think about the gasping breaths as the victims struggled. The Roman soldiers would often get tired of waiting on the individual to die and would frequently break the legs so the person could not use their legs to support their weight. Once the arms and legs gave way, the person would die of asphyxiation if they have not already died of other causes such as heart failure, blood loss, or dehydration. Sometimes, the soldiers want to extend the time on the cross just to cause more torture and humiliation and therefore did not take any actions to hasten death.

Once the crucified was dead, they were often left on the cross as an example and a reminder to all to obey the laws of Rome. Many corpses stayed on the cross until they simply decayed or were eaten by wild animals.

As we picture Jesus on the cross, take a minute to think about what he was experiencing mentally, emotionally, and physically. He was the Son of God, yet he had to endure this to fulfill the mission given to him by the Father and to take the next step in offering us the gift of eternal life. I am not sure I can even begin to comprehend what He and the victims had to endure. In the case of Jesus, who had committed no crime, He was crucified an innocent man and was only on the cross to follow God’s plan for him.

I know I have shared some gory details of crucifixion, but it is important to understand the suffering Christ endured just to show his love for each of us. It was really the love he had for each of us that held Him to the cross; no power on earth could have held him against His will.