As I notified you on Facebook, my last blog update was a live message during our last Night of Worship. Many of you were not able to make it and have asked me to recap it for you so here it is...with a little bonus material...
To continue our investigation of Hebrews 12:1-2, let's look at the second verse today: "...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (ESV) As we run this race, we are encouraged to fix our gaze upon our inspiration, Jesus Christ...the perfect runner! When pregnant women are in the throws of labor and delivery, they have been trained to find a focal point in the room and concentrate on it to help them get through the pain.
By the way, I had to apologize the other day to my wife, Cat, for not showing enough compassion as she went through pregnancy early in our marriage. She had horrible morning sickness with each of our three children and I have experienced a great deal of nausea during my chemo treatments. I have surrendered to the reality that I am just a big baby when I am sick and I don't know how Cat did it three times! Most of us men turn into big babies, so God knew what He was doing when he determined women would bring the children into the world. Otherwise, the human race would likely be extinct by now!
Every other week, I am connected by IV to a miserable concoction of chemo drugs for three days and take four different types of anti-nausea drugs almost simultaneously for about five days just to survive! Even still, after my last treatment, I had to be hospitalized for four days to get my system stabilized. I have had to focus on Christ and His example of courage and faithfulness as He ran the race "marked out" for Him. It has motivated me to keep going. If He could go through all that, I can easily go through this. The author of Hebrews causes us to consider exactly what He went through for us on the cross, enduring it's pain and despising it's shame. I want to spend this post looking at the latter phrase, "despising it's shame."
Aside from being excruciatingly painful, execution by crucifixion was absolute humiliation both emotionally and spiritually. Roman soldiers were known for humiliating, mocking and tortuously playing with their victims. Most crucifixion victims were stripped and hung in public places to add to the humiliation. It was reserved by the Romans for only the lowest rung of criminals. In fact, Roman citizens were not permitted to be executed by crucifixion except in the rare event of treason. Only slaves and foreigners could be crucified at the time of Christ. The topic was such a socially degrading issue that according to the etiquette of the day, Romans were never to speak of crucifixion. In one instance, a historian of the time tells us that one popular Roman play featured a final scene where the lead character is crucified. The lead character was being played by a famous Roman actor and playwright. Roman society was so outraged that a Roman actor would even portray the part of a crucified man and pretend to hang on a cross that they began to switch him out with a slave or criminal for the final scene of the play. The slave or criminal was of course really crucified in the theatre in front of the audience and died each time but since it wasn't a Roman, it was tolerated. Crucifixion was the most humiliating and degrading thing that could happen to you.
Additionally, I noticed something odd as I was studying one day: Jesus' disciples referred to his cross as a "tree" sometimes to Jewish audiences or readers (ie. Acts 5:30). Paul gives the reason in Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us -- for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'..." This is a reference to OT law in Deuteronomy 21:22-23 where Moses recorded God's instructions for the most vile and despicable criminals who are killed and hung from a tree: "...he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree...a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance." God seems to find these individuals so shamefully vile, that they are not worthy of either Heaven or Earth...they are suspended between the two and are not permitted to touch the Promised or Holy Land blessed by God for His people until a proper burial is given.
Whoa! When I first understood this it impacted me deeply! I wept in my study and thanked my precious Savior...you see, that was my tree. Jesus never committed one sin. All He did was travel throughout Israel loving the unlovable, healing the sick, disabled and blind, preaching a message of unconditional love and grace through faith, not religion. I was the shamefully vile one who has sinned and deserves to hang on that tree. But He willingly took my place of humiliation and shame, even though He despised it! As He took on all of our shameful sins that day, we are told the sky turned dark (even historians noted the strange, unexplainable eclipse of the sun that day) and Jesus cries out to His Heavenly Father, "...why have you forsaken Me?" He was shamefully forsaken and cursed by God because He carried all the shameful things we have done, some we hope no one will ever find out about. That's the Savior we run this race for! I will never get over what He has done for me and I will never be the same.
We don't know what kind of crazy days we will have to run through in this race...but let's run not be focused on our circumstances, hardships or deficiencies...let's run focused on our Savior! We don't know how long we will be running this race...let's not focus on that...let's focus on our awesome Savior! When you stumble and fall...when you feel like you can't put one foot in front of the other...when you feel like giving up...focus on our Jesus. When I go in for my next chemo treatment on Monday, I'm playing worship music in my earbuds (and maybe a little of the "Rocky" soundtrack) and I am focusing on Christ. I believe that's what Paul meant when he spoke of the privilege of joining Christ in the fellowship of suffering! I say...Bring It! And may He be glorified by how we run! One day we will reach the finish line and maybe...just maybe...He will stand to His feet and applaud!
