Which Side of The Cross to Live On

Luke 23:32-43

Introduction

We are preparing to celebrate the resurrection and God’s ultimate display of love next week. But of course, before the resurrection, there was the crucifixion. In the narrative of the crucifixion, an incident reveals that people all fall into one of two categories. It is an often-overlooked event within the crucifixion account, but when we get down to the essence of it, we discover the decision we must make with our lives.

Crucifixion was a form of punishment reserved for the hardest criminals and insurrectionists. Those condemned to crucifixion were first scourged. Now, the Romans had no rules concerning the amount of scourging an individual could receive like the Jews did, as mentioned in the New Testament. The condemned were scourged with a flagrum: a long leather whip with bone and metal sown into the ends so that once the flesh became tender, the flagrum could begin to rip the flesh with deep gashes. The condemned were tied to a post, and most scourging lasted anywhere…