Crucifixion

Bro. Lee Vayle 

 April 13, 1990

	Shall we pray. Heavenly Father, we know it was a great day when they
were able to say, “But now is Jesus risen from the dead,” and we
know He is risen from the dead, and yet we look back, commemorating His
death, which we speak of tonight, which we know we have every right to,
and ought to, because You gave us a communion Lord, representing that
same death. So help us as we study tonight, to see what it means perhaps
in a new way, not so much maybe a new way, but in a way we have not
quite looked at, though we knew it was there. May we see things clearly
tonight, help us Lord, and we’ll give You the glory, in Jesus’ Name.
Amen. You may be seated.

	Now tonight I want to speak on the crucifixion, or that the crucifixion
brings forth the resurrection. Which would immediately bring to our
attention that without the crucifixion there would not be, or would not
have been a resurrection. Even as Bro. Branham stated in so many times
that, “Something has to die in order to give something else life.”

	Now so we’re going to study the crucifixion in a little different way
perhaps than what we have previously studied it, to see exactly why the
Scripture, hopefully to see exactly why the Scripture is written as it
has been written concerning that event. 

	Now in Gal 3:13,14, it says:

(13)	Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree:

(14)	That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith.

	Now that particular Scripture is taken from Dt 21:22-23, and as we read
it, it immediately gives us a little different light from what we would
expect Gal 3:14 to say. So it says:

(22)	And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to
death, and thou hang him on a tree:

(23)	His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt
in any wise bury him that day; (that’s before the night falls,) (for
he that is hanged is (cursed) of God;) that thy land be not defiled,
which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

	Now you can see how that works exactly, by going to the Book of Judges
10:25-27. Oh and I can’t find it in Judges, can I? Joshua. [10:]25-27.

(25)	And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and
of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against
whom ye fight.

(26)	And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on
five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.

(27)	And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that
Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them
into the cave (where) they had been hid, and laid great stones in the
cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.

	So you can see what that verse of Scripture means. Now we go over to
John 19, and we proceed to read 30-34. And:

(30)	When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is
finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (He died.)

(31)	The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies
should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath
was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, (in
order to make sure they were dead,) and they might be taken away.

(32)	Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the
other which was crucified with him.

(33)	(And) when they came to Jesus, and saw he was dead already, they
brake not his legs:

(34)	But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and
forthwith there (came) out blood and water.

	Now also in Isaiah 53, we read maybe first twelve verses:

(1)	Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD
revealed?

(2)	For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out
of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see
him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

(3)	He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised,
and we esteemed him not.

(4)	Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

(5)	But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.

(6)	All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his
own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(7)	He was oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he
is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep before her shearers is
dumb, so he opene(d) not his mouth.

(8)	He was taken from prison and judgment: and who shall declare his
generation? for he was cut off of the land of the living: for the
transgression of my people was he stricken.

(9)	And he made his grave with the wicked, with the rich in his death;
because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

(10)	Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his
seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall
prosper in his hand.

(11)	He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by
his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify (the) many; for he
shall bear their iniquities.

(12)	Therefore will I divide him a great portion with the great, and he
shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his
soul unto death: and was numbered with the transgressors; and bare the
sin(s) of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

	And as Ps 22:16, “They wounded my hands and my feet.”

	Now from reading these Scriptures it is evident that the death of
Christ, and in the manner of his death, that is because of his death and
because of the very manner, there were at least three things, very
definite achievements, in that sin was atoned for, redeeming the soul,
the earth was redeemed as an inheritance of man, especially including
the resurrection of the part of the earth, which is the human body, and
there is healing and sickness, which He has made obtainable on the
grounds of faith, it is procurable. 

	Now we do not intend to pursue all of these tonight, because there
isn’t really any necessity for it, but we want to examine, as I’ve
already said, Gal 3:13,14, specifically in the light of Dt 21:22-23,
which we’ve already read.

	Now, by reading of course, which we did, Deuteronomy, and seeing the
perfect example over there in Joshua 10, and then we saw in the
Scripture, chapter 19:30-31, where Jesus fulfilled that very thing
spoken of, we can understand that the crucifixion of Christ, which was
called “hanging upon a tree”, was not exclusively for the shedding
of blood, because blood had to be shed, and such an act would of course
by crucifixion drain the blood from the body, though perhaps not every
bit of the blood from the body.

	Now the person crucified, we saw, from reading both Deuteronomy and
Joshua, the person crucified would not necessarily previously die from
lack of blood. Now see, that’s what you’re looking at. You’re
looking at Christ dying upon the cross, and you say, “Shed all his
blood, so therefore crucifixion caused him to die from the shedding of
blood. And cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree.” But you take
that back to Deuteronomy, and see the example in Joshua, and it does not
say that. See? We can readily see that hanging on a tree does not imply
the hanging as a means of death. It doesn’t say that. The person was
killed and then hanged, as a spectacle. So therefore we are looking at a
combination of these elements when we look at the literal crucifixion
and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

	So we’re looking over here again then, we can go back to John 19, and
in verse 30, it says:

(30)	When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is
finished: and he bowed his head, and (he died). 

	Then in [verses] 32-34 it mentions that they wanted to make sure that
the people, the three on the crosses were all dead, so they could
dispose of them and put them into the ground before the sun set, making
another day. So what they did then, they came to see, and Jesus was
already dead, but the other two were not dead. So they broke their legs
in order to hasten their death, and in order then to take them down from
off their crosses.

	Now we go to Psalm 22, and we could read a little bit in there,
beginning at verse 11:

Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

Many bulls have compassed me; strong bulls of Bashan have beset me.

They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint: my heart is
like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

For dogs have (en)compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed
me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

They part my garment among them, and cast lots (for) my vesture. (And so
on.)

	Now the spectacle presented here represents the power and authority of
the executioner over the executed, and it is an example then to the
people as a warning and as a triumph. So what you’re seeing here
according to the Book of Isaiah 23, and we read what it says in
Deuteronomy, and we read what happened to Jesus Christ, we can see that
Psalm 22 is perfectly beautiful on the grounds in fulfilling the hanging
on the tree, the person becomes a spectacle. And the spectacle is the
course of the authority of God wrought out by a law upon this person.
And it is a penalty and of course a payment for sin, and this payment is
exacted, and then the person, of course, having paid the price, then
there is no longer the wrath and the judgment of God upon the land or
upon the earth, which would of necessity be there because of sin. You
know it was sin that brought it in the first place.

	So wrong is righted, in a visible display, and he was, as we’ve
already said, despised and rejected of men, but in that rejection of men
the Bible says that God was satisfied. So now if God was satisfied
through the penalty exacted, and there’s no such thing as a true
double jeopardy, so that a person would pay a price again, any more than
Christ could die again, then whatever was accomplished by Jesus Christ
hanging upon that tree in his crucifixion, God is completely satisfied,
the penalty has been paid, there is no more penalty to pay, and the
person judged was not free. He paid that price, because what he’d done
was wrong. And Jesus having paid the price for us, the penalty having
been exacted, then we are absolutely free.

	Now I want you to notice something here. I mentioned here that a person
hanging upon a tree, according to Deuteronomy, was not a man who died
upon a tree. It was a man who was already dead. And then they hanged him
on a tree. 

	Now let’s go back to the Book of John, and there in the 10:17, Jesus
said, 

(17)	Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that
I (may) take it again.

	And then in Jn 19:11, Jesus talking to Pilate said, 

(11)	…Thou couldest have no power against me (at all), except it were
given thee from above: therefore he that delivere(th) me unto thee hath
the greater sin.

	Now Pilate said, “Don’t you know I got power to crucify you? I’ve
got power to release you.” 

	And Jesus said, “You don’t have any power at all.” Because he was
going to give his life under his own conditions, and nobody was going to
take it from him.

	Now in Lk 23:46:

(46)	And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into
thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the
ghost.

	Jesus was not killed. You can say what you want. He was not killed.
That is actually a figure of speech. He was killed only in so far that
men attempted to do it, and he let them perpetrate their deed, but they
could not kill him. He gave up his life! The scourging alone would have
killed him. And it didn’t kill him. 

	So you see what I’m driving at. I’m driving at the understanding
that this person here was a dead person hanging upon a tree, and the
others died upon a tree! I know Jesus died upon a tree, but I want you
to get the double meaning I’m trying to get to you. It’s a little
different from what perhaps you’ve looked at before.

	Now let’s go back here and we look at the thought then of Jesus
hanging on that tree. Now when he was hanging on the tree, the man
hanging on the tree had to face judgment for his sins, be buried in the
earth, lest something happened to the inheritance which God gave to man,
which was that earth. Now keep that in mind, because that’s what it
says. The curse cannot come upon the earth, in other words it stopped
right there, anything that that man did to bring a curse on the earth,
they caught him, they destroyed him by stoning, whatever method was
used, or slew them, hanged upon a tree, put him in a grave, that stopped
him. Because judgment, you see, which was required, was met.

	Now over here in Eph 1:13,14.

(13)	In whom also ye trusted, after ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were
sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 

(14)	Which is the earnest of our inheritance…

	Now what did Adam and Eve inherit? They inherited a clump of earth,
which they resided in, and a large ball of earth, upon which they
resided. Now that was their inheritance. He gave it to them. Now it says
here, “The earnest of our inheritance.” Which is the earnest, the
baptism with the Holy Ghost, a small measure of the Spirit of God,
coming into a body, now becoming a temple of God, assures the individual
of the purchased possession, he is going to get his inheritance. 

	Now all right, you understand what I’m saying now. Okay, we go… at
least I hope you do, but you will as we go along. Now we’re going go
to 1 Corinthians 15. And I’ll try to hasten this along here, and bring
it together for you. In the 45th verse. Now it says here in 1
Corinthians 15:

(45)	…The first man Adam (became) a living soul; (that’s what he
became, he went through a period. And he came right up into it. He
became a living soul. God breathed into him the breath of lives so he
could propagate.) the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

	Now watch in verse 22, same chapter.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all (shall) be made alive.

	Now you notice that every one of Adam’s seed went down in the ground.
Absolutely, they were sinners. They had to go down into that ground;
there was a price to pay. “Appointed unto man once to die and after
that the judgment.” Now Jesus also went down into that ground, having
expired upon Calvary’s cross, because he determined to do so.

	Okay, back in Genesis, where it all started, 17-19. [Genesis 3:]

(17)	And unto Adam (God) said, Because (you) hearkened (to) the voice of
your wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee,
saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

(18)	Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt
eat the herb of the field;

(19)	In the sweat of thy face thou (shall) eat (the) bread, till thou
return unto the ground; for out of it thou (was) taken: for dust thou
art, and (to) dust thou (shalt) return.

	Okay. Now, back in John again, the 19th chapter, and I can just quickly
get these for you, couple verses, the second and third verse, maybe a
little longer:

(2)	And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head,
(see the earth also shall bring forth thorns. And they made a crown of
thorns,) put a purple robe (on him), (signifying his royalty and his
kingship,) 

(3)	And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their
hands.

(4)	(And) Pilate went forth again, and (said), Behold, I bring him to
you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

(5)	Then came (forth) Jesus, wearing (his) crown of thorns, and purple
robe. And Pilate said, Behold the man!

(6)	(And) the chief priests and (the) officers… cried out, saying,
Crucify him, crucify him. …Take him, and crucify him: (he said,)  I
find no fault in him.

	So you see there what we are looking at now, what the ground brought
forth. It brought forth that curse, now there must be Someone who
somehow is going to remove the curse for us. 

	Now again in Gen 3:5-7.

(5)	For God know(s) the day ye eat thereof, your eyes be opened,
(you’ll) be as gods, knowing good and evil.

(6)	…the woman saw the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes,
tree to be desired to make one wise, she took the fruit… gave (to) her
husband (to eat. He ate with her.)

(7)	…the eyes of them (they were) both opened, they knew they were
naked; sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

	The 22nd verse:

(22)	And God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good
and evil; now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of
life, and eat, and live for ever:

	All right, the last part of the 19th verse, same chapter:

…for dust thou art, and (to) dust (you shall) return.

	Now you’ll notice in here that this man wanted to get to the Tree of
Life in order to not go into the ground, and in order to preserve his
inheritance, because that was his inheritance. It was given to him, to
rule and to reign over. 

	Now let’s go back to Gen 5:5.

(5)	And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years:
and he died. 

	He went to the grave, he went to dust, and he lost his inheritance.
He’s out of a body, he’s not in a body anymore, not a physical body,
he’s not have a thing to do with the earth, before he was upon earth,
he stood there as a spirit being, he couldn’t pick up a hoe and hoe
the ground, there was nothing he could do. The Bible said, “There’s
no man to till the soil.” And yet he stood there. So he was a person
literally of a country without a country. He was literally a king
without a dominion. In other words he had a potential. That’s why the
Bible says, “Adam became.” And in becoming, through sin he lost it.

	Now we saw what happened in Gen 3:17-19, the ground was cursed, the
earth was cursed, Adam and Eve were not cursed, they were put under a
probation, they were put under the penalty of death, and decay, with a
hope to come back at a future time. So the earth is cursed, that’s the
main thing we’re looking at, the inheritance that God gave.

	And our bodies are made of the earth, and are subject therefore to
sickness, disease, sin, insanity, devil power, death; all of those
things are in there. Now it is death, it’s the death and burial of
Christ, who died on the tree or the cross, and was buried, that removes
the curse from the earth, even our bodies, which will bring about even a
greater power and understanding of the resurrection.

	Over here in the Book of Rom 8:18-22.

For I reckon the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to  	be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

For the earnest expectation of (creation) wait(s) for the 	manifestation
of the sons of God.

For (creation) was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by 	reason
of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Because (creation) itself shall be delivered from the bondage of 
corruption into the liberty (of the glory) of the children of God.

(And) we know that the whole creation (is groaning) and travails 	in
pain together until now.

And not only they, but ourselves, (we’re all crying and groaning 
together, even though we got) the firstfruit of the Spirit…

	Even though we got the downpayment for the resurrection, which could
not come except by the shedding of blood upon the cross, it could not
come, we have it, and yet we’ve got to wait for the first
resurrection, when our bodies are redeemed. Now we can’t see it,
it’s there waiting for us, it’s going to come. 

	All right, let’s go back to Galatians 3 again, and 13,14.

(13)	Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree:

(14)	That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit…

	Okay, let’s go to Gal 3:8.

(8)	And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen
through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee
shall all nations (of the earth) be blessed.

	Now what’s it say here? That’s why the blessing of Abraham might
come on the Gentiles. In other words, all people from every kindred,
tongue and tribe and nation, there could well be people coming forth
into this which God hath procured for them. 

	Now let’s go to Heb 11:8-10.

(8)	By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he
should after receive for an inheritance, 

	There you are. After receive for an inheritance. Now the inheritance is
the land! Do you follow what I’m driving at now? Because I’m going
back to Deuteronomy. And I can’t take Galatians 3 and twist it away
from the original concept. It can’t be done. I’ve got to go back to
the original concept and stick with it. 

	All right, here:

(8)	By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he
should receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went.

	And the Bible said there wasn’t one place that the sole of his foot
touched that he could claim. He had to come back and get it in the
resurrection. And he’s going to get it. Okay, you follow me? All
right. And:

(9)	By faith he sojourned in (a) land of promise, as in a strange
country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of
the same promise:

(10)	For (now there’s news for you,) he looked for a city which hath
foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 

	And let me tell you something, you look at a city, it is made of
nothing except what is already here, manufactured by Almighty God, out
of what He created. Now there’s a City he’s looking for, and it’s
got foundations, and the Builder and Maker – doesn’t say now the
Creator, it says the Builder and Maker. God builds and makes out of what
He created, just the same as you and I do.

	Okay, what is that? Let’s go back to the Book of Revelation. And the
Book of Rev 21:23.

(23)	And the city hath no need of sun, neither the moon, to shine in it:
for the glory of (the Lord) did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light
thereof.

(24)	And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of
it: and the kings of the earth do bring their (honour and glory) into
it. 

	Now that’s the New Jerusalem, and this is a picture of the Eternal
City itself, New Jerusalem, and the Bride, and everybody else all around
about it.

(25)	And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there
shall be no night there. 

	You only lock things up at night; there’s no night. In other words,
there can be no burials. There’s no sin. See, the whole inheritance
question has been answered. Okay?

(26)	(They’ll) bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

(27)	And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth,
neither worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written
in the Lamb’s book of life. 

	Those in the Lamb’s Book of Life are in the New Jerusalem, and those
outside in the Book of Life, they keep their names on that record, will
be all around, they’re kings and nations, multitudes, maybe billions
for all I know, because by the time of Noah there was over five billion
people on earth, and that’s the number standing there, not the number
that you include by those that died! And today there’ll be about seven
[billion] people by the time the Lord Jesus Christ really gets us out of
here, and that’s not counting all the billions that came up and died!
And at that time there’s a seed! And there’s a wise virgin;
there’s a foolish virgin. And there will be a Bride there, and
she’ll be surrounded by the foolish virgin! And on top of that,
144,000 that enter into the King’s chamber with the Bride. Going to be
a fantastic thing. And all this is what is – comes from the hanging
upon a tree! In other words, the death of Jesus Christ. If there had not
been a death, what would there be? There would be disembodied everybody
out there. An uncompleted, absolute unfinished plan, because I’m just
quoting you the Word of God. 

	Now let’s go back to Genesis again. Just back and forth, to show you
these things. Genesis 1, and we look at 1 and 2.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face
of the deep.

	All right, here it is. Here is something right there that has been
perpetrated somehow by somebody that threw the earth into a cataclysm of
chaos! That’s all you can say. Now something’s got to get it out of
there. So what happens?

(2)	…the spirit of God (begins to move) upon the face of the (deep).

	Now we looked at that and in looking at that already, we’ve looked at
Revelation back here, already saw it, and it was in Rev 21:1-2.

(1)	And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

(2)	And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God
out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (The builder
and maker is God.)

	Now who is going to be there? Well, you can tell who’s going to be
there, because this is positively dealing with mortals who have come
into immortality. And we saw that in Eph 1:13,14. Now 13 and 14 is
preceded by those that are in Christ Jesus, the very elect, which are
the Bride. Now primarily. Now notice here,

(13)	In whom ye trusted, after ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation: in whom also after ye believed, ye were sealed with that
holy Spirit of promise,

(14)	Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the
purchased possession, (to) the praise of his glory. 

	So who’s going to be there? Every single person baptized with the
Holy Ghost. And who is that? That is nothing but the Bride. 

	Now how is the Bride going to make it? The Bride is going to make it at
the end time, and of course so are all the ones that are in the grave,
are going to make it on consideration of one thing, and that is it says
in Eph 1:17.

(17)	That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may
give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

(18)	The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know
what is the hope of his calling, and (so on right down the line, that
brings us right into a Rapture.)

	Now Bro. Branham categorically told us in Daniel’s Seventieth Week
that the Spirit of God would come into the church, to reveal the church
the hour in which it is living, and the deep secret and great mysteries
of God, and that has come in right now, that’s why he spoke of
himself, as in the Presence of Almighty God in a Pillar of Fire. So that
is going on right at this very moment.

	Now with Ephesians 15 – I know I’m going fast, but don’t worry,
we’re bringing it all together, it will all come out right.
Ephesians… I beg your pardon, 1 Cor 15:51-57, this tells you the
mystery concerning those who will not die. But they are going to be
changed regardless. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump, when that One comes down, they are going to be changed, and then
the dead will come out of the ground, and these living will be changed
and caught away with those that are there. Now that’s what you’re
looking at, at this time.

	Okay, back to Galatians again, the 3rd chapter. Just keep going back
and forth with me, we’ll see it all here rapidly come out. Gal 3:13.

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,

	All right, Christ redeemed us. Now you know there was a law way back
there in the Garden of Eden. And that law was, said, “You must not
take of this particular tree, and if you do it, it brings death.” 

	Now I want to tell you something. When Jesus died upon the cross, he
did not banish the law of the Ten Commandments and some other laws; he
banished and destroyed the power of every law. So you, whether you know
it tonight, the law of sin and death, the law of the tree in the Garden
of Eden that imposed the sentence of death on everybody, has literally
been annulled so that God in His due season can change anybody He wants
to at the last time of the resurrection and get a bunch of people out of
here, who don’t even die. That’s right, because every law’s been
taken care of. 

	Paul does not say, “The law,” as to the Jews. He says, “Law,”
as law, period. And if you don’t think that’s true, then how come in
the resurrection after the White Throne judgment, and after the defeat
of Satan, that God Almighty dissolves the whole earth and brings it
back? Every law, there isn’t one law that wasn’t taken care of.
“Cursed is he that hangs upon a tree.” Someone already dead and
hanging there as a spectacle, who must be buried in order that God will
not put a curse. The death of Jesus Christ goes plumb into eternity. And
it closes every mouth in judgment. Destroys every sentence against the
Bride. This is where you’re learning why it is that Bro. Branham said,
“Little Bride, you didn’t even do it.” We’ll see that under
justification, because it’s right here in the Good Book, of which we
are looking, you see. 

	Now let’s go to 2 Corinthians, which we may well do, and it’s the
5th chapter. And it’s a verse we’ve read many times, it’s the 21st
verse:

(21)	For he hath made him to be sin (offering) for us, 

	He’s made him to be sin. Now here is somebody paying a price. And
he’s going to hang upon a tree, and he’s going to buried in the
ground, and he’s going to be buried before night so that God can call
off the curse! Now that’s what you’re looking at. Absolutely,
there’s no way you’re going to get out of it.

(21)	…he hath made him to be (a) sin (offering, made him to be sin),
who knew no sin (himself); that we might be (become)… 

	That we not be made as though now, in the sense as though we are
already glorified, but through the becoming process! Literally the
righteousness of Almighty God. In other words the complete manifestation
of everything that is right with God! And that goes plumb to New
Jerusalem. And the price has been paid for it, and we’re very grateful
that it has been.

	Now the curse on all this earth is soon to be gone because he was
hanged upon a tree. Now talk about that hanging again. He must be
buried. 

	Now you don’t actually have to be buried first and then raised to
fulfill the meaning of a resurrection. Do you hear what I said? You
don’t have to die and be buried. You can lie on top of the ground and
rot, and be resurrected. But a hanged person, hanged between earth and
sky, as though rejected and rejected by both, because God turned His
back on him, “Why hast Thou forsaken me?” 

	And man said, “Crucify him, get rid of him.” 

	So hanging upon a tree signifies rejection! And the sun turned his face
on him, because it became black. And the stars wouldn’t shine and the
moon wouldn’t shine. And men stood there. And the earth went through
an agony, as Christ went through an agony. He was rejected! Hanging upon
a tree. Because that’s what it means. And he must be buried. 

	Why must he be buried? Because like Adam he came from the dust and he
went back to the dust. Typically, in a symbol! Because even Jesus came
from the dust! His body was literally a true human body. But not like
yours and mine. It had a created egg and sperm, which now, using the
chemicals through the process of Mary’s incubator body, or factory
body, manufacture body, call it what you want, in that period of
gestation, she absolutely supplied the elements that was necessary for
that body, and he became a part of the earth and he was put into the
earth, signifying that he was taking Adam’s place, “As in Adam all
die, even so in Christ all are made alive.” Or as the theologians say,
“There’s a new federal headship, and it lies in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” 

	Thus the crucifixion is really all about the body and the redemption of
the earth and the entire first creation! Right. The entire first
creation, and in a greater form. Why? Because God is a becoming God.
Don’t ever think that God is not, that’s He’s a God Who’s
arrived. God has not arrived, except within Himself and in His Own
Godhood. For eye hath not seen, and ear heard, and maybe never will
plumb the depths and limits of the becoming God. That’s right, God the
great becoming God. In other words, there is no limit to infinity. There
is no limit to the omniscient, omnipotent, infinite, Almighty God. So
thus I say the crucifixion is all about the entire redemption of God’s
first creation. 

	Now let’s go over here into the Book of Rev 3:14.

And unto the angel (or messenger) of the church of the Laodiceans write;
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the
beginning of the creation of God; 

	Where Bro. Branham said, “The start of God creating Himself into a
human form.” Way back there when that light came out, Bro. Branham one
place called the Logos, he said too many statements that are a little
too obtuse for me to talk about it, but he also said, “If you call
Jesus the Logos, you make three gods.” So call it anything you want,
but he said, “That light going out there, like a light, “This day
have I begotten thee,” like a son playing around the father’s door,
God in Christ beginning to create.”

	What was he doing? He was beginning to do the very thing I’m talking
about, which the crucifixion demanded that somebody pay a price, hang
upon a tree. He didn’t really die upon that tree, like those other
people did. And he didn’t die before the tree. They hung him on a
tree, and he gave his life. Then he hung there as a spectacle. Then they
took him and they buried him! Thus assuring us that the first fruit
would bring forth all the other fruits! Because that’s first creation!
And where the head is the body must follow. And remember, we came, not
from the loins of God; we came from the Head of God. It’s the life
that gives the Word, and the life is in the Head. 

	Now He’s here. And He’s honoring His Own death upon Calvary. When
God in a human form paid that price for you and me. I know it sounds
peculiar, but it’s still the truth. Absolutely the truth. See? 

	Now we can see we know about the blood, we know how it cleanses, but
we’re looking at this other aspect that I think is so important –
you know why? Because it’s the hour of the resurrection. You know you
can’t help but get stirred and illuminated by the Spirit of God as He
is doing what He must do according to Scripture. And according to
Scripture, Elijah had to come to restore, then the Son of Righteousness,
there He is, rising with healing in His wings, would get us out of here.
Having brought about a resurrection. 

	This is why we spend time all we’re talking about. That’s why I
take Bro. Branham’s sermons, what he said, I look into them and see
where I can come back to the Word and bring out these thoughts on the
fact what Bro. Branham spoke of. [End of side one.] …?... because this
is the hour of the resurrection, and this is that time. But remember,
without that cross there could not be a resurrection. It would be
impossible.

	So we know all about the blood. That covers the sin. That allows
redemption of the soul, and in turn allows the redemption of the body.
That blood was offered once for all. For those who died back previous,
and for those who die after, that’s you and me, if we should die. It
also fell upon the ground, returned to it’s elements, as Bro. Branham
said, thus signifying that the life of Christ has thoroughly satisfied
for this earth to come back! See? Absolutely. 

	And he suffered also, and was buried in order that you and I could be
healed, as we extend our faith in Him. But remember, healing is
something that you positively on your own faith can look forward to. But
you didn’t have to look forward to your own faith, as far as you
becoming a born again person. That was something that God had already
done by election, foreknowledge, election and predestination. That’s
something that was already there, and because the sheep hear the Voice,
they follow the Voice and they come into the fold, which is the fold of
the Lord Jesus Christ. 

	John told us, “Beloved, I wish above all else you may prosper and be
in health as your soul prospers.” He tells you, “Hey look, I hope
you get healing.” But he talked about an elect lady. He knew who the
elect were. Peter knew who the elect were. That’s the Bride of the
Lord Jesus Christ.

	So what I’m saying is this tonight: Christ suffered upon Calvary to
let you and me in this last day come to the fullness of the realization
that other people had merely talked about. And that is the resurrection
into the Millennium, which is a further process of sanctification,
waiting for the second final resurrection, sometimes called the general.
For there’s a separation as it were from sheep and goat, and
afterwards Satan and his crowd attempt to come against Almighty God. 

	And listen, Satan never changes. He’s still going to try to get his
Eden. You say, “Well how could Satan possibly ever come against God?
What kind of a person?” Well that’s what the Bible says. Stands
right there and tries to defeat God. At the very end time, tries to get
his way again, but he’s not going to have it. And having gone through
that period, what happens? The earth and the very heavens are dissolved,
but we’re caught to the very throne of God, and brought right down
here. 

	And what am I finalizing saying? Hey, you were meant for this body. You
weren’t meant for something else. The simplest things in all the world
is what always completely confuses people. That’s right. People got an
idea somewhere down the road you may change. You are not going to change
down that road, you’re going to look the way you are, you’re going
to be just the way you are, you’re going to be just that same person,
but I’ll tell you one thing, you won’t have to worry about sin.
That’s the only thing. You’ll be a perfect sexual yet sexless
individual, because you’ll be male, you’ll be female, but you
won’t procreate. Live as one great big family of Almighty God. And
that’s coming. 

	As I said the other day, every psychologist tells you the same thing.
Everybody wants his children to grow up and become peers, equals with
father and mother. To be real adults. To share in a communion, to share
in a happy family. Well I got news for you. There won’t be any
children over there. They’ll all be adults. All share one big happy
family. You won’t have to worry anymore. Who’d want to go back to
school? Who’d want to go be a kid again? Why, it would be great to
have the vitality, but it would be completely wasted. Who needs it; who
wants it? We want to go down that road, to where the eternal City comes
down, and we’re a part of it. 

	Now listen, Jesus suffered to obtain it for us. Now Bro. Branham used
the little text on a sermon. He said, “There they crucified him.
There, Jerusalem, the holiest city, they, the Jews, the holiest people,
crucified the most horrible death that he paid in agony, him, the
holiest people.”

	Now I’ve got a tape by Dr. James Dobson that I want you to hear. And
when you hear it, you’ll begin to understand why I was so taken with
it. Medical doctors wrote what Christ went through at his crucifixion.
Tonight, before the Lord’s Table, and foot washing, I want us to hear
– it’s going to take about one half hour, is all it’s going to
take – I want us to hear exactly, not what theologians said, but what
medical men say, and you’re going to find a lot of what I said is sort
of there, but you’re going to see the truth. Go ahead. [Tape is
played.]

	“On this special Focus on the Family cassette are two messages that
deal with the nucleus of Christian faith. On our first program we
feature a presentation entitled ‘The Crucifixion’, in which Dr.
Dobson reads from an article that describes the many agonies that Christ
endured on our behalf. The program begins as Dr. Dobson comments to
broadcast co-host, Mike Trout.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Well of course, Mike, for every Christian, the Easter Season should
be a time of great 	celebration, because that’s the source of our
meaning and purpose in life. You know, if Christ 	were still in that
rich man’s grave, if his bones were rotting someplace there, outside
the gates 	of Jerusalem, then all of our hope would be gone, and death
would have a new sting, and we 	would have nothing to look forward to,
because it was through his resurrection that all of us 	find eternal
life.”

[Mike:]

	“It’s difficult I know for non-Christians to understand how we
could celebrate the death of 	someone.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Uh-huh. Yeah, that Good Friday, Mike, was at one time the most
awful, terrible moment in 	human history, and the most wonderful moment.
It’s hard to explain that, but that’s the way 	we see it.”

[Mike:]

	“I know you have some information you want to share with our
listeners that you’ve been 	holding onto for a number of months.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Well years, actually, Mike.” 

[Mike:]

	“Is that right?”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Because what I want to do is read an article that really had an
impact on me, that I read in 	the Journal of the American Medial
Association – it’s called JAMA, J-A-M-A – and it was 	published on
March 21, 1986, Volume 255, Number 11.”

[Mike:]

	“Hmm, that’s not a religious publication.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Hardly. The JAMA is the Journal of the American Medical Association,
just as its title 	implies, and they carried an article back in 1986
entitled ‘On the Physical Death of Jesus 	Christ’. And it was
written by three people; the senior author was William Edwards, MD. 

	“So this is written from a medical perspective, describing what Jesus
went through on that 	day of crucifixion. What was it like? What
actually happened to him physically and medically 	in the process of
crucifixion? It is a very important issue, Mike, as we just said, that
was a 	terrible and a wonderful day.” 

	“What we’re going to do today is look at the price that Jesus paid
for our salvation. You 	know it is through his stripes, and through his
agony, and through his death that we find 	eternal life. What did it
cost him? In addition to having the sins of the whole world put on 	him?
When you think about that, Mike, alone that’s backbreaking! Can you
imagine every 	murder that was ever committed, every time a father beat
a child to death, that sin was placed 	on Jesus? Every alcoholic who
wrecked his family, you know, every evil deed that has ever 	been done,
every war that’s been conceived, every time anyone has been tortured,
think of the 	most wretched, evil things you can imagine, and all of
that sin was bundled up by God 	Himself and placed upon His Son, as he
hung upon that cross. How he survived, just that, 	emotionally, is hard
to fathom. It’s no wonder he said, “My God, my God, why hast Thou 
forsaken me?” How could God look at so much evil at one time? God is
holy. He couldn’t 	countenance it; He couldn’t accept it. He had to
turn His back on Christ while he was dying. 	But what did he go through
physically? That’s the question and that’s the article that I want 
to share with our listeners.”

[Mike:]

	“And these physicians look back over two thousand years and share in
this article, based on 	the medical knowledge that we have today of the
human body, what agony Christ would have 	gone through.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Yes. They took some of their information from the Bible, from the
Gospels, and even other 	parts of the New Testament. They took some of
it from archeological evidence, and some of 	it from medical textbooks.
And I don’t often read to our listeners, as you know, that can get 
very boring, but this is an article that I would find difficult to
describe in other terms. So 	perhaps our listeners will find this
helpful, Mike.”

[Mike:]

	“I encourage them to just sit back and listen along with me.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“All right, the article begins, and I’m going to skip certain parts
of it that get very technical, 	but this is the essence of it. It begins
in Gethsemane.

	“After Jesus and his disciples had observed the Passover meal in an
upper room in a home in 	southwest Jerusalem, they traveled to the Mount
of Olives, northeast of the city. It is likely 	that Jesus was born in
either 4 or 6 BC and died in about 30 AD. During the Passover 
observance in 30 AD, the last Supper would have been observed on
Thursday, April 6, and 	Jesus would have been crucified on Friday, April
7. At nearby Gethsemane, Jesus, apparently 	knowing that the time of his
death was near, suffered great mental anguish, and, as described 	by the
physician Luke, his sweat became like blood.” 

	“Although this is a very rare phenomenon, bloody sweat (which is also
called hematidrosis or 	hemohidrosis) may occur in highly emotional
states or in persons with bleeding disorders. As 	a result of hemorrhage
into the sweat glands, the skin becomes fragile and tender. In the cold 
night air, it may have produced chills. 

	“Soon after midnight, Jesus was arrested at Gethsemane by the temple
officials and was taken 	first to Annas and then to Caiaphas, the Jewish
high priest for that year. Between 1 AM and 	daybreak, Jesus was tried
before Caiaphas and the political Sanhedrin and was found guilty 	of
blasphemy. The guards then blindfolded Jesus, spat on him, and struck
him in the face 	with their fists. Soon after daybreak, presumably at
the temple, Jesus was tried before the 	religious Sanhedrin (with the
Pharisees and Sadducees) and again was found guilty of 	blasphemy, a
crime punishable by death. 

	“The rigors of Jesus' ministry (that is, traveling by foot throughout
Palestine) would have 	precluded any major physical illness or a weak
general constitution. (“In other words he was 	in good health.”)
Accordingly, it is reasonable to assume that Jesus was in good physical 
condition before his walk to Gethsemane. However, during the 12 hours
between 9 PM 	Thursday and 9 AM Friday, he had suffered great emotional
stress (as evidenced by the 	hematidrosis), and by abandonment of his
closest friends (the disciples), and a physical 	beating (after the
first Jewish trial). Also, in the setting of a traumatic and sleepless
night, he 	had been forced to walk more than 2.5 miles to and from the
sites of the various trials. These 	physical and emotional factors may
have rendered Jesus particularly vulnerable to the adverse 	hemodynamic
effects of the scourging.”

	“Flogging was a legal preliminary to every Roman execution. The usual
instrument was a short whip with several single or braided leather
thongs of various lengths, in which small iron balls or sharp pieces of
sheep bones were tied at intervals. Occasionally, staves also were used.
For scourging, the man was stripped of his clothing, and his hands were
tied to an upright post. The back, buttocks, and legs were flogged
either by two soldiers (called lictors) or by one who alternated
positions. The severity of the scourging depended on the disposition of
the lictors and was intended to weaken the victim to a state just short
of collapse or death. After the scourging, the soldiers often taunted
their victim.”

	“As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim's back with full
force, the iron balls 	would cause deep contusions, and the leather
thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin 	and subcutaneous
tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear
into the 	underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of
bleeding flesh. Pain and blood 	loss generally set the stage for
circulatory shock. The extent of blood loss may well have 	determined
how long the victim would survive on the cross.”

	“At the Praetorium, Jesus was again severely whipped. It is implied
in one of the epistles (1 Peter 2:24). It is not known whether the
number of lashes was limited to 39, in accordance with Jewish law. The
Roman soldiers, amused that this weakened man had claimed to be a king,
began to mock him by placing a robe on his shoulders, a crown of thorns
on his head, and a wooden staff as a scepter in his right hand. Next,
they spat on Jesus and struck him on the head with the wooden staff.
Moreover, when the soldiers tore the robe from Jesus' back, they
probably reopened the scourging wounds.”

	“The severe scourging, with its intense pain and appreciable blood
loss, most probably left Jesus in a preshock state. Moreover,
hematidrosis (“and Mike, that’s the oozing of the blood through the
skin. [Mike:] “The sweating of blood.” That’s right.”) had
rendered his skin particularly tender. The physical and mental abuse
meted out by the Jews and the Romans, as well as the lack of food,
water, and sleep, also contributed to his generally weakened state.
Therefore, even before the actual crucifixion, Jesus' physical condition
was at least serious and probably critical. (“Now the authors are
going to talk a little bit about crucifixion itself.”)

	“Crucifixion probably first began among the Persians. Although the
Romans did not invent 	crucifixion, they perfected it as a form of
torture and capital punishment that was designed to 	produce a slow
death with maximum pain and suffering. It was one of the most
disgraceful 	and cruel methods of execution and usually was reserved
only for slaves, foreigners, 	revolutionaries, and the vilest of
criminals. Roman law usually protected Roman citizens 	from crucifixion,
except perhaps in the case of desertion by 	soldiers.” 

 It was customary for the condemned man to carry his own 	cross from the
flogging post to the site of crucifixion outside 	the walls. He was
usually naked, unless this was prohibited 	by local custom. Since the
weight of the entire cross was 	probably well over 300 pounds, only the
crossbar was 	carried. The patibulum, (“which is what they called the
crossbar,”) weighed 75 to 125 	pounds, and was placed across the nape
of the victim's neck and balanced along both 	shoulders. Usually, the
outstretched arms then were tied to the crossbar. The processional to 
the site of crucifixion was led by a complete Roman military guard,
headed by a centurion. 	One of the soldiers carried a sign (called a
titulus) on which the condemned man's name and 	crime were displayed.”


	“At the site of execution, by law, the victim was given a bitter
drink of wine mixed with myrrh (or gall) as a mild analgesic. The
criminal was then thrown to the ground on his back, with his arms
outstretched along the patibulum. The hands could be nailed or tied to
the crossbar, but nailing apparently was preferred by the Romans. The
archaeological remains of a crucified body, found in the ossuary near
Jerusalem and dating from the time of Christ, indicate that the nails
were tapered iron spikes approximately 5 to 7 inches long with a square
shaft across. Furthermore, ossuary findings have documented that the
nails commonly were driven through the wrists rather than the palms.”

[Mike:]

	“Yes, I’ve heard that.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Because the palms would not support the weight.”

[Mike:]

	“They’d tear.”

[Dr. Dobson:] 

	“After both arms were fixed to the crossbar, the patibulum and the
victim, together, were 	lifted onto the stipes. (“That’s the up and
down piece of the cross.”) On the low cross, four 	soldiers could
accomplish this relatively easily. However, on the tall cross, the
soldiers used 	either wooden forks or ladders. (“We don’t know
whether Jesus was crucified on a short 	cross or a long cross.”) 

	“Next, the feet were fixed to the cross, either by nails or ropes.
Ossuary findings… (“and the 	word ‘ossuary’ relates to bones,
ossification or osteoporosis…”)”

[Mike:]

	“And archeologists would study Ossuary findings.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Ossuary findings. That’s right.”

	“Ossuary findings suggest that nailing was the preferred Roman
practice. To accomplish this, 	flexion of the knees may have been quite
prominent…”

	“That means that the two knees were held together and then pulled up
under the person on the 	cross, and pushed to one side, perhaps, and
then the feet were nailed there, instead of nailing 	them straight down
the cross. Understand?”

[Mike:]

	“Yes.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

 	“…and the bent legs may have been rotated laterally. (“Or to one
side.”)

	“When the nailing was completed, the titulus (“or the message above
the cross,”) was 	attached to the cross, by nails or cords, just above
the victim's head. The soldiers and the 	civilian crowd often taunted
and jeered the condemned man, and the soldiers customarily 	divided up
his clothes among themselves. The length of survival generally ranged
from three or four hours to three or four days (“Can you imagine some
men spent three or four days in that position on the cross?”) it
appears to have been inversely related to the severity of the scourging.
(“In other words, the more of the blood loss in the whipping, the less
time you lived on the cross.”) However, even if the scourging had been
relatively mild, the Roman soldiers could hasten death by breaking the
legs below the knees.”

	“Not uncommonly, insects would light upon or burrow into the open
wounds or the eyes, or 	the ears, and the nose of the dying and helpless
victim, and birds of prey would tear at these 	sites.” 

	“There wouldn’t be anything you could do to attend to yourself.”

[Mike:]

	“All of your extremities were tied down.” 

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“That’s right.”

	“Moreover, it was customary to leave the corpse on the cross to be
devoured by predatory 	animals. However, by Roman law, the family of the
condemned could take the body for 	burial, after obtaining permission
from the Roman judge.” 

	“Although a nail in either location (“either the palm or the
wrist,”) might pass between the bony elements and thereby produce no
fractures, the likelihood of painful injury would seem great.
Furthermore, the driven nail would crush or sever the rather large
sensorimotor median nerve. The stimulated nerve would produce
excruciating bolts of fiery pain in both arms. Although the severed
median nerve would result in paralysis of a portion of the hand,
ischemic contractures and impalement of various ligaments by the iron
spike might produce a clawlike grasp.”

 Most commonly, the feet were fixed to the front of the 	stipes by means
of an iron spike driven through the first or 	second intermetatarsal
space, (“that’s the top of the foot,”) it 	is likely that the deep
peroneal nerve and branches of the 	medial and lateral plantar nerves
would have been injured by 	the nails.”

	“You know what happens when you injure a nerve, you 	know, it just
screams, the pain is intense. And you can 	imagine what Jesus was
feeling as he hung there on the 	cross.”

[Mike:]

	“As that spike went through that arm, the author says, 						
‘There might have been some pain’.” 

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“That’s an understatement.” 

[Mike:]

	“What an understatement.” 

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Yes, well he did talk about bolts of fiery pain.” 

[Mike:]

	“Yes. Were probable, yes.” 

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“The authors then go on to talk about the cause of death.”

	“The major pathophysiological effect of crucifixion, beyond the
excruciating pain, was a 	marked interference with normal respiration,
particularly exhalation. (“He couldn’t exhale.”) 	The weight of
the body, pulling downward on the outstretched arms and shoulders, would
	tend to fix the intercostal muscles in an inhalation state and thereby
hinder passive 	exhalation.”

	“In other words, he could breathe in, but he couldn’t breathe
out.” 

[Mike:]

	“It sounds like almost every part of the body was affected.” 

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“It seems as though crucifixion was dreamed up, was planned to be the
most painful torturous 	method of death that they could think of. It was
cooked up in the cauldrons of hell. Satan 	himself concocted this form
of torture; this means of death for the Son of man who came to 	seek and
to save that which was lost.” 

	“Accordingly, breathing was shallow. It is likely that this form of
respiration would not 	suffice and that hypercarbia would soon result.
The onset of muscle cramps or contractions, 	due to fatigue and
hypercarbia, would hinder respiration even further. 

	“Adequate exhalation required lifting the body by pushing up on the
feet and by flexing the elbows and adducting the shoulders. However,
this maneuver would place the entire weight of the body on the tarsals
(“which had the spikes through them, and those raw injured nerves,”)
and would produce searing pain. Furthermore, flexion of the elbows would
cause rotation of the wrists about the iron nails and cause fiery pain
along the damaged median nerves. Lifting of the body would also
painfully scrape the scourged back against the rough wooden stipes.
Muscle cramps of the outstretched and uplifted arms would add to the
discomfort. As a result, each respiratory effort would become agonizing
and tiring and lead eventually to asphyxia. (“In other words too
little oxygen and you’d eventually die.”) 

	“The actual cause of death by crucifixion was multifactorial (“had
many sources,”) and varied somewhat with each case, but the two most
prominent causes were shock and exhaustion asphyxia. (“In other words
you got too tired to push up on the nails and pull your body into a
position where you could exhale.”) Other possible contributing factors
included dehydration, stress-induced arrhythmias, (“the heart didn’t
beat right,”) and congestive heart failure with the rapid accumulation
of pericardial and perhaps pleural effusions. (“He’s got water in
the lungs and the heart’s not beating properly and it’s just not
handling the blood supply properly.”) Death by crucifixion was, in
every sense of the word, excruciating.”

	“In fact, Mike, did you know that the word ‘excruciating’ comes
from the cross?” 

[Mike:]

	“No.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“The ‘excruciating’, that word means ‘out of the cross’. The
very word itself representing 	agony finds its root in what a person
experienced on the cross.”

[Mike:]

	“I can imagine everyone who’s listening can identify in some small,
very small way, with the 	pain you’ve been talking about. They’ve
twisted their wrist, they’ve twisted their ankle, 	they’ve felt that
pain. They’ve been to the dentist and had that shooting pain of a
drill 	touching a nerve in a tooth. They’ve had an allergy attack,
they’ve had an asthma attack, they 	haven’t been able to take a deep
breath, they know what it means to struggle, to fill their 	lungs, but
to have all of that together…”  

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Yeah, all going on at one time. If you ever hit your thumb with a
hammer, you know what 	intense pain you can experience from one source.
But Jesus not only had this, as we were 	saying before, from every
possible physical source, but also the emotional pain of being 	rejected
by God for a time and having the sin of the world on him. I cannot
imagine it. You 	say we identify in some small way, I don’t think we
can even grasp it.” 

[Mike:]

	“No.” 

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“The article concludes with the crucifixion of Jesus.” 

	“After the scourging and the mocking, at about 9 AM, the Roman
soldiers put Jesus' clothes 	back on him and then led him and the two
thieves to be crucified. Jesus apparently was so 	weakened by the severe
flogging that he could not carry the patibulum (“or the cross piece to
	his cross,”) from the Praetorium to the site of the crucifixion about
one third of a mile. 

	“Jesus' death after only three to six hours on the cross surprised
even Pontius Pilate. The fact 	that Jesus cried out in a loud voice and
then bowed his head and died suggested the 	possibility of a
catastrophic terminal event. (“In other words, life did not just ebb
away; there 	was a final kind of climatic moment apparently. What caused
it?”) One popular explanation 	has been that Jesus died of cardiac
rupture.”

	“That’s one possibility, his heart…”

[Mike:]

	“A broken heart.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“…exploded. Yes.” 

	“However, another explanation may be more likely. Jesus' death may
have been hastened simply by the state of exhaustion and by the severity
of the scourging, with its resultant blood loss and preshock state. The
fact that he could not carry his patibulum supports this interpretation.
The actual cause of Jesus' death, like that of other crucified victims,
may have been multifactorial and related primarily to shock, exhaustion
asphyxia, and perhaps acute heart failure. A fatal cardiac arrhythmia
(“or the failure of the heart to beat properly,”) may have accounted
for the apparent catastrophic event.”

	“Thus, it remains unsettled whether Jesus died of cardiac rupture or
of cardiorespiratory failure. However, the important feature may be not
how he died but rather whether he died. (“Now this again is a medical
journal, this is not from the theological point of view; obviously we
know from the Bible that he died right there on the cross. But the
physicians said,”) Clearly, the weight of historical and medical
evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was
inflicted and supports the traditional view that the spear, thrust
between his right ribs, probably perforated not only his right lung but
also the pericardium (“or the sack around the heart,”) and the heart
itself and thereby ensured his death. Accordingly, interpretations based
on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at
odds with modern medical knowledge.”

[Mike:]

	“Doctor, you know the thought that comes to my mind as I’ve
listened all the way through 	what you’ve just shared, you remember
the conversation we had with Philip Yancey about 	pain, and how pain is
something good for us, the Lord gave us pain as something good, as a 
warning sign, and we turned it around, and we used it as a weapon
against the Creator.”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Mm-hmm. Can you imagine, Mike, the God that created the whole
universe through this 	Jesus Christ that hung on that cross…”

[Mike:]

	“And created that pain!”

[Dr. Dobson:]

	“Yes, in fact the Bible says that all things were made by him, and
without him was not anything made that was made. That’s the gospel of
John. That Lord actually came and took the punishment for you and me,
and he would have done that for me, if I was the only person on the face
of the earth, he would have gone through that for me. If I was the only
one in all the world to love. And he went through that, being the King
of the universe, that is almost too awesome to comprehend, and it just
speaks to me again of the love of the Savior. 

	“I’ve done a lot of reading today, Mike, and really too much, but
let me end with that 	wonderful Scripture in Isaiah 53, which is
prophetic of Jesus. It’s written 700 years before he 	came. And this
is what Isaiah said. 

	[Isaiah 53: [NIV]

(1)	Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD
been revealed? 

(2)	He (speaking of Jesus,) grew up before him like a tender shoot,  and
like a root out of (the) dry ground. (The Lord had not spoken through
the prophets, to the children of Israel for four hundred years, when
Jesus came. It was a dry and sterile ground that he came out of.) He had
no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance
that we should desire him. 

(3)	He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar
with suffering. (Was he ever.) Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

(4)	Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we
considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 

(5)	But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by
his wounds we are healed. 

(6)	We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his
own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 

(7)	He was oppressed and afflicted, yet (he opened not) his mouth; he
was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers
is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 

(8)	By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of
his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the
transgression of my people he was stricken.

(9)	He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his
death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 

(10)	Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his
offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in
his hand. 

(11)	After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life]
and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify
many, and he will bear their iniquities. 

(12)	Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will
divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto
death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of
many, and (he) made intercession for the transgressors.

	“And that’s you and me, Mike, and all those people listening to
us.”

[Mike:]

	“And that summarizes what Good Friday’s all about.”

[Bro. Vayle speaks again.]

	We might not quite agree with everything that Dr. Dobson said, but
I’ve never ever heard an actual graphic account of what a crucifixion
is, and there’s no way we will actually know what America now calls
cruel and unusual punishment, although that’s perpetrated upon many
innocent people, but we never will know really what all Christ suffered.

	I think that they hit the actual pointed issue was not that maybe Jesus
suffered physically any more than some others have suffered, but the
fact of who he was, and that separation and what sin did actually, the
guilt that he bore that in giving his life for you and me that we might
have the power of the resurrection come back upon us. It’s a mystery,
but I thought you might – because I know you never heard anything like
it – really appreciate the suffering that he went through. And then
again, let us understand this, it could have been far more intense than
perhaps some other human being would have suffered, even on the grounds
of the physical, though I really don’t know, as I said awhile ago, it
might have been that he suffered not as much as some, but he could have
suffered even far greater than that. 

	Let us just look at the Scripture for a minute here, shall we, in 1
Corinthians, as we go to the Communion of the Lord, and I think everyone
knows pretty well how we come to the Table of the Lord. We come around
the back, the very back at this, and they come up and around, and the
rest just keep following in turn as we go. 

	In 1 Corinthians 11: Paul said:

(23)	…I have received the Lord (verse 23,) that which also I delivered
unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed
took bread:

(24)	And when he had given thanks, he (broke) it, and said, Take, eat:
this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

	And of course that doesn’t just, as we realize tonight more than
ever, that doesn’t just mean the positioning on the cross and the
suffering there from, but actually what they call chastisement, which
was given to all people considered criminals, even when they were
innocent, because the idea was that if you even had somebody suggest
something about you, there must be something you did, and then therefore
you should be punished. Which is not true. It’s a very, very strange
thing to come out of any generation. 

	But it was as they said, those ones who some would deliberately try to
kill him even before he got to the cross. And there are those who
suggested that, because they feel that Satan was illuminated concerning
what Christ was going to do, and therefore he would try to kill him.
Even people suggested he asked – Satan said to Jesus, “Jump off the
temple,” figure he could kill himself, and that would get him out of
the way. That would be then to stop him from going to the cross for
sins. That is guesswork, I would never agree with it, unless we had a
prophet to say that that’s the way it was. We don’t know, so we
leave it. 

	But his body was broken, but no bones were broken. How you would break
a person’s leg to hasten his death, I don’t know. I would suggest a
club on the head would be far greater; you’d make sure a person dies.
I suppose you do hasten a person’s death breaking his legs, because
the agony’s intensified, and I think that’s what they had in mind.
It’s a most cruel situation to look at; it’s actually very, very
horrifying.

(25)	After the same manner he took the cup, when he had supped, saying,
This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye
drink it, in remembrance of me.

(26)	For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew
the Lord’s death till he come.

	And we look tonight again at what the death accomplished; that is what
we’re looking at. Looking at the fact, no matter which way you look,
no matter what you examine in the Word of God, there is only one outcome
and that is immortality. And all that goes with it and the excellence
and the infinite abilities of God. We haven’t got really, what you
might say, a clue to what this is all about, but if we believe it, and
of course we’re called fools to do it, but I believe we have
vindication. Others don’t like my vindication, I don’t like their
non-vindication. If they’re happy to go through and meet God without
vindication, that’s their business. I mean look, just because some
people don’t like bread and butter and jam, especially toast, don’t
tell me I can’t have it. That’s the religious world, they’re so
ridiculous, they’re so pitiful. Then why do they even bother to take
the Lord’s Supper? It’s got to be a gimmick. Maybe because there’s
money in it. I’m sure there is. You get people together to take the
Lord’s Supper, you pass the plate. If you don’t, why would you do
– why would they do it? They don’t believe it. 

	I’m saying this for a purpose, to get us to understand that we are a
very unique and privileged people. Many people may do this, but in
who’s remembrance? They don’t even know them. They didn’t know
them back there, what makes people think they’ll know them today?
Really. You think we’re different from the Jews? Come on, it’s no
different; Bible says there’s no difference. It’s a tragic thing. I
trust God will deepen our understanding, because we need it, to enter
into the solemnity, the seriousness and the greatness of what God has
done. 

	But He has left us this little memorial service, and I trust that we
will be those who are worthy – actually when it boils down to being
worthy, you wouldn’t start with saying, “Well I think I’m a very
fine person.” Now that’s good. “I really believe that I walk
right.” That’s good. But my question is this: if you didn’t
believe right, in what this is about, why would you do it? Well come on.
You never got a telephone call by dropping a quarter into a post office
box. That’s right. How would you get what’s behind this to work? If
you’re aiming in the wrong direction? It would be useless; you’re
going through the motions. To deposit a quarter in the wrong place
doesn’t mean it’s going to work. To take Communion of the Lord
doesn’t mean it’s going to work, just because you take it. It’s
what’s behind it. 

	See this is the thing that we stand for in this church. I appreciate
brethren like us, who stand for it in their churches; they’re ready to
die for it if necessary. We are not formal people who simply have a
ceremony, say, “Well we did it.” Why? We understand, I believe, why
we take this and we see tonight from medical records even, how true it
is. Many people are weak and sick, because they don’t really get to
what’s back of it all, what is behind it all. Not historical, it’s
no longer historical, it is vital and living.

	All right, let us take then the Communion of the Lord and foot washing,
understanding the things of the Lord, shall we rise at this time. Let
the brethren come forward, and those that are going to play come
forward, and you’ll have help, people know how we serve here, and you
just follow each person in turn from the back, and they come around, go
back to their seat, and others just start following, section after
section. Now let us bow our heads and pray.

	Heavenly Father, again we want to thank You for Your grace and mercy
extended toward us at this time, in that Lord we have had such a rich
revelation given to us, and not only that Lord, but even as men’s
minds have expanded with the knowledge that has been given by that which
is here in earth, and you’ve allowed men to examine it and set it
forth, even all of this points to the end time, that we are right at the
very verge Lord of this hour, when the resurrection will take place. And
we thank You for it. 

	And as we partake of these emblems tonight Lord, may we be very, very
serious, and very knowledgeable in the grace and the power and the love
and the things of our great God and Father and our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. So that we’re not partaking in vain, Lord, but in a
reality. And then Lord, may it come forth even in a greater way, as we
go on Lord within the revelation and the understanding of each part of
it, Father. 

	We commend ourselves tonight, and as we do, we say, Lord forgive us
every single sin that we’ve committed Father. Anything that lies in
our hearts and minds Lord, we know, our dispositions and those other
elements therein, we pray Lord You’ll just forgive us for even being
ourselves, as it were Lord, and those things that have accrued to us
over the time. That we may stand here Lord as Bro. Branham said, the
perfect, virtuous, righteous Bride of the Lord Jesus Christ, completely
washed with the eradication of sin, because the blood has washed away
every evidence of sin, and where there’s no sin then there can be no
sinner. Stand in this truth tonight Lord, and then take these emblems in
appreciation, knowing that that’s what they stand for. We give You the
glory for this, in Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.

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