It Is Finished
by Gaither

Chorus:
“It is finished,” the battle is over,
“It is finished,” there'll be no more war;
“It is finished,” the end of the conflict,
“It is finished,” and Jesus is Lord!

Thank you, God, for the gift of salvation, paid for by my Savior Jesus Christ and freely given to me. Amen.

When I reflect during Lent, my thoughts usually travel to Good Friday and Jesus' willingness to suffer and die on the cross for me.

Last year, I became curious about crucifixion and researched it on the internet. I was sickened by what I discovered. A brief account of my findings follows.

When the condemned person reached their place of punishment, they were forcibly thrown backward with their shoulders against the wooden crossbar while the executioner drove nails through the small bones of the wrists (not their palms) so they could support their body weight. The crossbar was then attached to the vertical bar of the cross and lifted upward. The left foot was pressed back against the right foot and a nail was driven through the arch of each. The knees were bent. The victim was now considered crucified. Hands and feet felt excruciating pain while muscles cramped. The pectoral and intercostal muscles became paralyzed and were unable to act. Air could be inhaled but not exhaled. Finally carbon dioxide built up in the lungs and blood stream and the cramps partially subsided. This allowed the victim to laboriously push himself upward with his feet so he could take breaths to replenish his oxygen. The constant cycle of pushing up and sagging down caused searing pain as tissue tore from their lacerated backs. Eventually the chest cavity filled with fluid and compressed the heart which tried to pump heavy thick blood; the lungs could only get small gulps of air. The body would be dying at this point. The end of crucifixion was by crurifracture, the breaking of the leg bones. Suffocation soon followed. To make sure of death the soldiers thrust a spear between the ribs into the heart.

Jesus knew the fate that awaited him. Crucifixion was no secret. People came from all around to witness the spectacle. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed to God, his father, to “have this cup taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” He could have fled and hid from his accusers. But he didn't. He stayed and died an ignoble death – for me! “Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?!”( Charles Wesley's And Can It Be That I Should Gain? )

GINGER GARNER