A Most Cruel and Disgusting Punishment
In his classic book, The Cross of Christ, John Stott highlights the unprecedented and unparalleled violence of the cross. Examining the origins and practices of this barbaric form of capital punishment, he describes the cross as “the most humiliating form of execution.”[1]
In fact, nearly 100 years before that first Good Friday, a Roman philosopher and lawyer named Cicero debated the use of the cross for those sentenced to the death penalty, arguing that the cross was “a most cruel and disgusting punishment.”[2]
Cicero advocated for a removal of the cross for the Roman citizen saying, “To bind a Roman citizen is a crime, to flog him is an abomination, to kill him is almost an act of murder: to crucify him is—what? There is no fitting word that can possibly describe so horrible a deed.”[3]
And yet despite the humiliation, violence, horror, and disgusting nature of the cross, Cicero’s words would have no bearing less than a century later when an innocent man, pronounced “Not Guilty” time and time again, would be sentenced to execution by the cross.
The Absurdity of Jesus’ Innocence
Throughout the trumped-up trials of Jesus Christ, filled with hidden agendas and false witnesses, Jesus was repeatedly pronounced, “Not Guilty”:
· Luke 23:4—Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”
· Luke 23:13-15—Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him.
· Luke 23:22—A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death.”
Even one of the other criminals who was killed alongside Jesus observed the innocence of Christ, saying, “This man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41).
How absurd to imagine a man, vindicated through trial, receiving a “Not Guilty” verdict, and yet, despite all of this, being sentenced; and not just sentenced, but sentenced to death; and not just sentenced to death, but sentenced to the most humiliating, painful, cruel, disgusting, torturous execution known to man!
The Beauty of Jesus’ Innocence
While the innocence of Christ on Good Friday seems to scream injustice, the New Testament writers highlight the beauty of Jesus’ innocence, and the absolute necessity of his sinless nature.
The man hanging on that cross had to be innocent. Our Savior had to be perfect, for only a spotless lamb could be our substitutionary sacrifice, and only a sinless man could redeem sinful man.
That’s the beauty of the perfection of Christ, namely, that, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Peter and John also celebrate the innocence of our Lord:
· 1 Peter 2:22—He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
· 1 John 3:5—You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
It’s not just that the man on trial on Good Friday was unjustly betrayed by Judas and wrongfully sentenced by Pilate. It’s not just that the man on trial was “Not Guilty” of the crimes brought against him on that day. He was innocent of all crimes and all sins. He was and is, perfect; absolutely spotless, blameless, without blemish.
He knew no sin, committed no sin, and in him there is no sin.
On that first Good Friday, Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, endured that most cruel and disgusting cross, receiving the wrath that we deserve, so that we might enjoy his forgiveness, his peace, his redemption, his presence, his salvation, his righteousness, and his life.
He died on that cross so that we might know him forever.
What a “Good” Friday, indeed!
Jonathan Williams is the founder of Gospel Family Ministries. He is also the author of Gospel Family. Jonathan enjoys this ministry alongside his wife, Jessica, and their three children, Gracie, Silas & Elijah. With a heart for families and the church, Jonathan also serves as the pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas.
