The Fall of Christ, Chapter 5: Ex Crucio

Listen.

Do you hear the sound of the serpent striking his heel? Do you hear the sound of King David crying out as he sings, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Do you hear Isaiah weep as he says, “He was crushed for our iniquities”? The Prince’s pain echoes down through time, from the very beginning. His fall is so great, because it is the center of everything that has ever happened. It is the heartbeat of the Bible, of your life, of the world.

Listen.

The Prince and the Father wove a plan throughout all history… and it all came to this. It came to his fall. He has been betrayed. Arrested. Rejected. Denied. Condemned. And now he comes to his cross.

Ex crucio. The Latin phrase literally means “from the cross.” It’s where we get our word “Excruciating.” And now… here his cries come, ex cruio, from the cross.

The Fall of Christ.
Chapter 5: Ex Crucio.

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They led him out… to crucify him.

As is normal for the Romans, they force the condemned to carry his own crossbeam. A hundred fifty pounds of already blood-stained wood. Jesus isn’t even worthy of a new cross; he gets one that has already been used to crucify… what? A dozen criminals before him? Two dozen? More?

His arms are chained to the crossbeam, and as he falls… he can’t even use his hands to catch himself. He lands on his chest, all the weight of the crossbeam pressing down. The Prince is so, so weak. The soldiers have a job to do. They grab Simon from the crowd. Force him to carry the bloody wood.

And the Prince… has so much further to fall.

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When they reach the Place of the Skull, that hill called Golgotha, the soldiers offer Jesus wine mixed with myrrh. It deadens the pain. Makes you feel… floaty. It’s not mercy on their part. They just don’t want Jesus struggling as they nail him into place. Jesus refuses. He will face what is to come with a clear head.

They strip him. The nail his wrists to the crossbeam and then hoist the crossbeam up into place. They nail his feet into place. The sounds of hammer and wood and screaming fill the air.

He has so much further to fall.

While he watches, they nail two other criminals, one on his right, one on his left. And then while Jesus watches, they gamble for his clothing. It’s not like he’s ever going to need them again. He’s not even important enough for them to wait for him to die before dividing up what little he owns. He doesn’t even get that much respect.

They mock him. They all mock him. People walking by on the busy road throw Jesus’ words in his face. “Ha! You think you’re strong enough to tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days?” And yet there’s some small comfort… because the temple of Jesus’s body is being destroyed right now before their eyes, and in three days… it will be rebuilt.

The other criminals surrounding Jesus mock him. Even though they’re dying the same death, they won’t claim Jesus as their own. And yes, one does repent and come to faith in Jesus. But that’s not where he started. The chief priests, too. They’ve destroyed their enemy, but they kick him while he’s down, making fun of him.

But this mockery is not the end.
He has so much further to fall.

Darkness falls. Judgment has come. In the Bible, whenever the sun stops shining, it is a sign that God is bringing his justice on the land. That every wrong will at last be answered and punished. But the sun has not stopped shining because God is giving you everything you’ve earned by your sin. The sun has not stopped shining because God is handing the chief priests what they’ve earned through their treatment of Jesus.

No. Here, in the dark, here is the Fall of Christ.
Everything else was just prelude.

Listen.

Do you hear his scream?

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The screams that echo through eternity, as justice lands on the only Son of God. These screams, as the Fall of Christ finally arrives, as the sword of raging fury at every injustice, every sin, every dark deed, everything you have ever done and everything I have ever done. It slices down through Jesus’ soul.

The Trinity turns on itself. The Father turns his back on the Prince. The Holy Spirit deserts him. This is the price of our sin.

And Jesus can no longer cry out to his Father. Not now. Now he is not the caring “Daddy.” Now he is only raging God who demands justice.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why?

The book of Hebrews answers.

Why?

For the joy set before him. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, to sit down at the right hand of God.

Jesus does not die because he is forced to. He does not fall because he feels bad for us. He falls… because of the joy that comes on the other side. He falls… because the joy that comes is worth the price he pays.

He falls… because he loves you that much.

This is the weight of sin. Jesus himself experiences hell. This is the weight of my sin. And he loves me enough to do this. He doesn’t do this to guilt me. He doesn’t do it to guilt you. He does it because he is taking guilt from you. He is standing as your substitute at the judgment of God.

This is the Fall of Christ. So that you may be lifted up.

And after three hours of darkness, after three hours of hell, Jesus breathes his last. His life is not stolen from him. He is not executed, clinging to his last breath. He lays his life down of his own accord.

And if he lays it down… he will pick it up again.

And in the temple of God, there is a curtain. That curtain separates man and God. It keeps humans safe, because to be in the presence of holy God is to be destroyed if you are impure in any way. And as Jesus breathes his last… the curtain tears in half. From top to bottom. And the only way it can tear from top to bottom… is if someone above is doing the tearing.

Sin separated us from God. But now the separation is gone. God himself has destroyed it. You are forgiven.

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The Fall of Christ is over.

His body hangs on the tree, lifeless. His soul has separated from his body.

God rests.

There is a flurry of activity. A rich man asks for Jesus’ body, and his request is granted. He and the women gather together and wrap Jesus in linen. They wrap him like a wound. They bury him. And as sunset comes… they go home. It’s the Sabbath. It’s the day of rest.

And God rests.

On that Sabbath, no one seems to rest. The Chief Priests plot to make sure Jesus stays dead. They scheme and connive to make sure no one can take the body.

And God rests.

The disciples hide, clinging to shadows, scared that what happened to Jesus will happen to them next.

And God rests.

The women mourn. They weep. They wail.

And God rests.

Finally, sunset comes on that Sabbath, on that day of rest. And all of creation… waits.