A Soldier's View of the Scourging and Crucifixion of Christ

by Barbara Latta

Quintus wiped his brow and looked over the bodies mingling with dust, rebellion and r

Jesus was whipped with a flagrum.

eligion. His position from horseback gave him a good view of the populous. Why couldn’t these Jews learn to live in peace under Roman rule? Now another religious zealot was on the way to his death because of ideals. This one claimed to be the Son of God.

What God would allow his son to be killed? Lightning bolts would fall out of the sky if a hand was raised against a son of Caesar.

If he wasn’t the son of a god, then who was he? Never before had Quintus seen a man endure scourging without crying out for mercy from his tormentors. The only sound uttered had been moans of pain but no begging for the lash to stop which had only brought on more stripes from Cassius. And Cassius was the most brutal soldier who wielded a flagrum.

The condemned man had stood before Pilate in all his bloodied glory wearing a dirty purple robe and the mockery of a crown. Prison guards had relieved their boredom with another victim to taunt. Woven thorns encircled his head piercing tender flesh and drawing more blood to run down the already mutilated face.

Now the prisoner struggled to walk up the Via Dolorosa on the way to Golgotha, the place of

Seven inch spikes were nailed Jesus to the cross.

execution. Quintus was tired and wanted this over with. Keeping these crowds from another up-rising was a full time job.

“Keep moving,” he yelled to the soldiers under his command. The man in the street fell under the weight of the 125-pound beam bearing down on the raw, bloodied shoulders.

“You there,” Quintus shouted to a man in the crowed. “Carry the crossbeam for him!” The man shrank back in fear as if he were the one about to be crucified. One of the soldiers grabbed him and pulled forward on the man’s arm slinging him out into the road next to the condemned one. The spectator reached down and helped the man lying on the ground. Tenderness replaced the fear in the man’s expression and he helped the victim up, putting the crossbeam on his own shoulders.

Finally, they could get moving again. Maybe the day would be over soon and Quintus could get some rest.

At the top of the hill, Quintus dismounted and surveyed the leering audience. The man’s condemners stood nearby.  He supposed they were there to watch and make sure the execution was carried out. Even the man’s own kind had turned against him.  

A guttural moan pierced the air as what was left of the body was thrown on the ground and his arms stretched out on the wood. Seven-inch iron spikes were placed against his wrist and the hammer came down hard splitting flesh and attaching the appendage to the crossbeam. The fingers drew up around the metal in claw-like positions as the nerves in the arms were pierced. The third nail was driven into the ankle joints and the beam with the sacrifice attached was raised and placed on the pole. One of the soldiers climbed a ladder and nailed a sign at the top of the cross. Women’s sobs were heard across the valley while the crucified man hung between heaven and earth.

No one being crucified ever refused the offered pain killer of myrrh-infused wine. The one called Jesus had turned his head away when the drink was placed near his face. Still no words left his mouth to condemn his captors, instead he forgave them. Forgave them? How could a man treated this way forgive anyone?

Thorns encircled His head in mockery.

The other prisoners were begging for mercy, one of them even taunting the man in the middle. Apparently the other one had a change of heart and finally silenced his partner in crime and begged for mercy from Jesus of Nazareth. How could this man hanging by nails give mercy to anyone? He needed mercy himself.

While those under Quintus’ command gambled for the man’s clothes, they all waited for the prisoners to die. Quintus watched the one called the Son of God. He had witnessed many crucifixions but he had never seen a man die with so much dignity and humility while in the midst of so much pain. The man raised his head and said, “I thirst.” Quintus didn’t wait for one of his soldiers to grab the wine, instead he pushed a spear into the sponge and dipped into the liquid and raised it to the man’s cracked and swollen lips offering what little relief he could. He was supposed to be supervising the execution of a criminal, yet now he was offering comfort to a condemned man.

 But something pulled him toward the massacred face and the eyes that were able to see beneath the puffed lids looked straight into his soul. Quintus almost dropped the spear but he held on lest some see him and think he was weak.

His gaze couldn’t leave the man’s body. The other prisoners had not been beaten like this one and yet they cried in agony. This man’s pain was obvious, but he looked up toward the sky and cried out to a Father begging to not be forsaken.

The sky grew so dark Quintus could barely see those around him. The ground shook and the man spoke his last words, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” The head hung against the lifeless chest and Quintus looked again at the sign bearing the title “King of the Jews.”

Son of God? Yes, Quintus thought. I think He really was.

Share your thoughts about Jesus, the Son of God.

Roman soldier's view of the crucifixion (click to tweet)

Diamond Mines and God's Love

by Barbara Latta 

A 7.5 carat diamond was unearthed this week in Arkansas at the Crater of Diamonds State

Gemstones are much sought after.

Park. I grew up 25 miles away from this site which is the only diamond mine in North America, and every time we go back to visit my parents our sons want to go look for diamonds. This is not a cave like the image the word mine portrays, rather It’s just a big field of dirt. 

Gemstones of all kinds are much sought after. Jewelry stores abound with sparkling ornaments in every color imaginable for us to adorn ourselves with. At one time all these precious stones were rocks hiding in the earth covered with dirt and darkness. 

Don't give up because of the worn surfaces of your soul

by Barbara Latta

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them (Psalm 139:16 NKJV).

Electronic books are the latest process for reading.

Electronic books are the latest process for reading. The owner of a device can carry volumes within the weight of a few ounces and access stories with the touch of a finger. 

But nothing replaces the feel of a hard cover or paperback in the hand. I enjoy the texture of the pages as they are turned and the smell of the ink on the paper while a story comes to life.

National Words Matter Week

by Barbara Latta

The second week of March commemorates National Words Matter Week.

Words are a natural part of our lives. It’s hard to imagine going through one day without saying a single thing. That’s why it is so important to have good communication coming out

Taunts like "sticks and stones" can hurt.

of our mouths.

Sticks and stones

Most of us grew up hearing taunts spit at us by other children on the playground. The usual response would be “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” While that sounds like a clever retort, nothing could be further from the truth. A wound made by a stick or stone can heal and later is forgotten, but words can stab at our hearts leaving a painful opening in our soul.

The Power of Imagination

by Barbara Latta

Voyages to the moon and back were someone's idea.

Imagination. Some think the word only refers to child-like fantasies but places like Disneyland, voyages to the moon and back, and Henry Ford’s Model T were all products of someone’s imagination.

What is imagination? 

Imagination is the power to see with our mind. The ability to perceive mental pictures from words has created physical things. Building, toys, roads, bridges, art, and jewelry are a  that started out as ideas.

Using imagination helps develop minds and keep creative juices flowing. It is the power to achieve goals. Many athletes have shared how their success has come from visualizing the steps to victory before competing and they have been the ones to win the trophies. Jack Nicklaus said that he never shot a hole of golf without first playing the course in his mind. When on the ice, Wayne Gretsky visualized where he thought the puck would be going next.

David had meditated on God while tending his sheep and when confronted with a giant was able to bring him down with a stone because the greatness of God overcame the smallness of the thinking of Israel’s army.

Results of Negative Imagination

In the same way, imagination can be used in a negative way. Negative thoughts can create negative images which in turn bring about catastrophic results. As he thinks in his heart so

Take time to think about ideas.

is he (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV). When encountering a challenge, if we let thoughts such as “I am going to fail,” or "I’m going to mess up” stir in our minds, actions will follow and failure will be the result.

The Israelites were forbidden from entering the promised land because they used their imagination in a negative way. They saw the inhabitants of the land and let fear form a mental picture of their defeat instead of dwelling on all the miracles God had performed to bring them across the wilderness.  Caleb and Joshua were the only two of the twelve spies to enter Canaan because of their ability to see victory instead of defeat.

Jesus Saw Victory

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). Yes, even Jesus used the power of his imagination to defeat the

Jesus saw the joy set before Him and endured the cross.

challenge of the cross. He saw the joy of resurrection, the victory of defeating the devil, and the waiting arms of His Father in heaven.

God gave us an imagination and he wants us to use this powerful gift in faith to accomplish the dreams he has put into our hearts.

How can we use this power effectively in our lives?

• Realize our imagination is a gift we should use. Pray and ask God for the desires to match His will.
• Make a list of dreams and goals we wish to have. Take 10-20 minutes out of the day and just sit and think. Picture accomplishing each goal and see yourself winning.
• Think big. We can limit God by thinking too small. God who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.(Romans 4:17b AMP). Remember Abraham. God put a dream and a promise in his mind, but Abraham had to act on it when in the natural realm it looked impossible.

With God all things are possible. Share your imagination.

We can limit God by thinking too small (click to tweet).

The power of your imagination is a gift (click to tweet).

5 Ways to Avoid Becoming Offended by Others

by Barbara Latta

We have the power to refuse to become offended.

Clicking the TV remote or booting up the computer is all that’s necessary to be blasted with someone’s rant or latest offense. Our ears and eyes can become bombarded with negativity and the constant stream going into our minds can have a lasting effect if we are not careful to stop the flow. Even when we think we are not affected, a mood change can be the key to tell us we are letting poison control our emotions.

We have the power to flip the switches on electronic devices, but we can’t turn off opinions spouted in our presence whether in the workplace, marketplace or school. Refusing to become offended is a choice we can make, but the power to make that choice requires discipline in the Word of God. I am not referring to opinions that merely differ from ours, but the destructive, vile and blasphemous words spouted in public and over the airways in the last few months.

Here are five ways to handle offensive opinions of others:

The Unconditional Love of God

by Barbara Latta

Our tokens of love are emotional.

Chocolate, roses, fancy dinners, and cards are the primary gifts given for Valentine’s Day. These are physical reminders of affectionate feelings for another person. But after the day is over, do we revert back to old ways and forget the loving things said and done because of a special holiday?

Our tokens of love are emotional. Feelings aren’t wrong, but we can’t depend on them to guide our lives. Sometimes we don’t feel like being loving, we would rather be grumpy or rude. But real love performs the action even when the feeling is absent.

God’s love is unconditional. He loved us while we were still dirty, rotten sinners (Romans 5:8). He showed the one and only kind of real love when he gave Jesus to us as a gift wrapped in a little baby to grow into the man who would have all the foul sin of the world placed upon him.

He loved us without us loving Him.

God loved us without us loving Him.

Because He loved us, we can love Him (I John 4:10). And because He loved us, we can love others. Not with a feeling, but with a showing, a doing, a becoming what He made us to be.

Our works don’t bring us into a relationship with God. Faith does that. Receiving grace does that (Ephesians 8-9). But to bring someone else into that grace requires showing them the love of the Father. The action comes in by not retaliating against someone who has mistreated us, being kind to someone who was rude in the shopping line and keeping our mouths in line with the word when we get “blessed” out. These are the actions of love despite the opposite feelings rising within us.

Heaven's valentine wasn’t a card sent through an angelic mailbox. It was blood running down a wooden cross to soak into the cursed earth. One drop would have been enough, but He used it all to show us He goes over and beyond and does much more than we need.  He paid the highest cost and we were given the freest gift. 

Happy Valentine’s Day—from Jesus (click to tweet).

What does this love mean to you?