Living Intentionally Ministries

It is 3:00 p.m. Jesus groans at the top of his lungs as the pain overwhelms him. He pushes on his feet, but his legs will not respond. He pulls as hard as he can on his arms. They don't move. He is suffocating. His lungs have filled with fluid. He hears his mom cry out. He wants to respond. He can't. He tries again to exhale. His body will not respond. Reality is fading fast. Jesus cannot see. He cannot breathe. His head falls to his chest; his body is limp. Jesus has died.

It is 2:55 p.m. Jesus' miraculous birth, childhood, and public ministry have led to this moment. He feels life slipping away with every second. He pulls on his arms, but they hardly move his body. He will have to push with his legs. He pushes on the nails in his feet and lifts his body. "Father, I place my spirit in your hands."

It is 2:25 p.m. In the complete darkness, Jesus has continued to be able to see his mother Mary, head bowed, unable to look up at his gruesome body. John is still there, weeping quietly. But now, their images begin to fade. Jesus' sight is slowly slipping away. The world grows even darker for Jesus. Every gasp of air brings with it the suffocating inability to exhale. Jesus pulls on his arms, his body rises, he lets out a breath, blood trickles down to his chin.

It is 11:00 a.m. Jesus received a beating this morning designed to inflict as much punishment as the body can stand without death. After that he was nailed to a cross through his wrists and the tendon area of his heels. And now, he has been on the cross for two hours. He has lost a lot of blood. His body is fatigued. While he can breath, he can only exhale by pulling himself up by his arms or putting weight on his feet which are nailed to the cross. He is slowly dying. He pushes himself up and holds himself there so he can speak to his mother Mary, and to John, his closest friend. "Mom, John will be your son from now on.” Jesus looks directly into John’s eyes. Tears fall from Jesus’ eyes, “John, take care of my mom."