Broken

Introduction

Like the other gospel writers, as the apostle John records the events pertaining to the death of Jesus, he refers to a few Old Testament Scriptures that foretold these things, as proof that Jesus is the Messiah. One such quote that has always caught my attention is what is said in John 19:36, "Not one of His bones shall be broken," an allusion to Psalm 34:20, and also a reference to the Passover lamb as a foreshadowing of Christ (Jn. 1:36; 1 Cor. 5:7; cf. Ex. 12:46; Num. 9:12). The fact that none of Christ's bones were broken in His death was a fulfillment of prophecy!

Though none of His bones were broken, one thing that always comes to mind when I come across this passage is what Paul quotes Jesus as saying: "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me" (1 Cor. 11:24; emp. added). Though at first glance these passages may seem at odds, but after thinking for a moment one can see that the reference to the body of Christ being broken refers to His death, that His physical body was broken down and no longer functioned.

When we partake of the bread on the first day of the week, this ought to be our focus, how Christ was broken for us, how he died as a sacrifice for our sins. Though His body is specifically what is mentioned as being broken here, the ways in which Jesus, in a sense, was broken, goes further than that; it describes just how bad His suffering was, even to the very reason why He gave His life for crimes He did not commit. Consider how Jesus Christ was broken for you.

1. A Broken Body

   1. The physical pain that Jesus endured in trials and ultimately on the cross is beyond what we can even imagine.
   2. Beaten (Jn. 18:22, 23; Matt. 26:67; Mk. 14:65; Lk. 22:63-65)
      1. Many of us go through life without even suffering this much, yet this was the least of Christ's physical pain. (Have you ever been beaten, really beaten?)
   3. Scourged (Matt. 27:26; Mk. 15:15; Jn. 19:1)
      1. The New Testament says very briefly that Jesus was scourged (), and at first reading someone may miss this fact. However, just the mention of the word was enough for those in the first century to twinge.
      2. The scourge was a short whip with braided leather thongs, containing small iron balls or sharp pieces of bone. The victim was tied to a post (usually naked) in a bent over position, and beaten until the one administering the stripes was satisfied that the victim is on the brink of death (Jews had a 40 stripe limit, Deut. 25:3; 2 Cor. 11:24, but Romans had none).
      3. The skin would literally be torn off the victim's back, even tearing muscle, and wounds would go deep enough so that every heart beat caused arteries to spurt out blood (Harrub and Thompson).
      4. Isaiah prophesied how bad He would be beaten (Isa. 52:14).
   4. Crowned (Matt. 27:28-30; Mk. 15:17-19; Jn. 19:2, 3)
      1. These were no little thistles scratching his scalp, these were large thorns (possibly from a lote tree), that averaged 1-inch in length.
      2. The thorns did not scratch his head, they dug into it.
      3. The purple robe they placed on Him would not have been so bad, if He had not just been scourged! His fresh wounds stuck to the material, and re-opened when it is ripped off (Matt. 27:31; Mk. 15:20).
   5. Crucified (Matt. 27:32-50; Mk. 15:20-39; Lk. 23:26-46; Jn. 19:16-30)
      1. Very little detail is given as to what crucifixion entails. Again, this is because the mere mention of the word was enough for those in the early centuries to twinge. However, Psalm 22 gives us some insight.
      2. A victim of crucifixion was nailed to a wooden cross (the most common was actually shaped more like T). Nails were driven through the wrists (Jn. 20:25-27) and a single nail through the feet (Ps. 22:16).
      3. Because the body is in a sagging position, the victim has to push up on the feet in order to exhale, and eventually dies of suffocation because he lacks the strength to continue doing so, as the pain of the nails shoots through the body on each breath. The chest pounds as his heart fills with fluid (Ps. 22:14); and the massive blood loss causes dehydration (Ps. 22:15; Jn. 19:28).
      4. Jesus was also experiencing the pain of His open back wounds, rubbing up and down the rough wood of the cross, not to mention the insects and elements beating down on Him.
      5. After enduring 6 hours on the cross (Mk. 15:25, 34), Jesus breathed His last. Finally, it is finished (Jn. 19:29)
   6. Everybody experiences physical pain in this life. Jesus went through that, and then a whole lot more.

2. A Broken Spirit

   1. As if the physical pain was not bad enough, the spiritual and emotional strain greatly magnified our Lord's suffering.
   2. Gethsemane
      1. Just prior to His arrest, Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, in such agony about what He was about to endure for our sins. As He sweats drops of blood because of the strain (a condition called hemahidrosis, Lk. 22:44), His skin becomes tender, making what lies ahead that much more painful.
      2. In His agony, He even asks God if there's any other way that His will can be accomplished (Lk. 22:42).
      3. His friends desert Him (Matt. 26:56) and deny Him (Matt. 26:58, 69-75; Mk. 14:54, 66-72; Lk. 22:54-62; Jn. 18:15-18, 25-27). It is one thing to go through pain when you have friends to comfort you, and quite another when you're all alone.
   3. Humiliated and Rejected
      1. While Jesus is beaten, He is also being mocked and spit upon the very people He was for which he was dying to save (Matt. 26:67; Mk. 14:65; Lk. 22:63-65; 23:11). One cannot help but think He was looking at each and every one of them and asking Himself "Am I really dying for Him?"
      2. The Jews choose a notorious murderer and robber (Matt. 27:16; Mk. 15:7; Jn. 18:40) to be released to them rather than Jesus (Matt. 27:20; Mk. 15:11; Lk. 23:18; Jn. 18:40).
      3. Pilate gave one last chance for releasing Jesus, but the crowd responded "We have no king but Caesar" (Jn. 19:15). How insulting and hurtful!
   4. Tempted
      1. The challenges for Him to come down from the cross and save Himself would not have been too difficult to overcome for a normal man, but Jesus actually was capable of saving Himself! (Matt. 27:40, 42; Mk. 15:30, 31; Lk. 23:35; cf. Jn. 10:17, 18)
      2. He could have called 10,000 angels (Matt. 26:53).
      3. Can you imagine being able to save yourself from something like that and having the resolve NOT to.
   5. Forsaken
      1. Jesus could have saved Himself, but He did not. He could have been helped but He was not.
      2. His deepest emotions came to the surface as He felt separated from His God and cried "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46; Mk. 15:34; Psalm 22:1) This is how He tasted death for us all (Heb. 2:9). This is what He went through, so we don't have to.
      3. We cannot even begin to fathom what He felt at this moment, and because He suffered such things, we may never have to.
   6. Not many people would be able to handle this emotional strain apart from the physical suffering, let alone along with it.

3. A Broken Heart

   1. After Jesus died, a soldier pierced His side. Blood and water poured out showing that He did not die of suffocation like many victims of crucifixion, but of heart failure (Jn. 19:34). Jesus died of a broken heart.
   2. Our sins grieve God (Hab. 1:13; Isa. 59:2), and are the reason Jesus volunteered to suffer and die in the first place (Jn. 3:16).
   3. And after recalling all He went through, we sometimes tend to focus on the wicked men who gave Him up to die, however, the blame is truly on each and every one of us. He bore OUR sins on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24).

Conclusion

1. When we break the bread, we need to remember how Christ was broken for us (1 Cor. 11:24).
2. Jesus was broken so that He might break the curse upon all sinners (Gen. 3; Gal. 3:13; Rev. 22:3).
3. He suffered the worst things that could befall him so that we did not have to suffer the worst things that could befall us.
4. If you have ever committed one single sin your relationship with God is severed (Isa. 59:2; Rom. 3:23; Rom. 6:23) and that was YOUR punishment Jesus endured.
5. Read Isaiah 53
6. How can any one person endure such things? The magnitude of His suffering reflects the magnitude of His love for us (Jn. 3:16; 15:13; 1 Jn. 3:1; Heb. 5:8, 9).
7. He's gone through so much, why would you want to cause Him anything more?

References