Cross (Pack Of 25), The

There have been few methods of execution more torturous or more excruciatingly painful than crucifixion?and the Romans mastered it.By design, death on a cross was not quick. No vital organs were damaged, so it was a slow, agonizing demise. Soldiers would first whip the victim with a scourge and then force him to carry his own crossbeam to the execution site. Once suspended on a cross, the hours in a strained position took its toll on the individual's body, causing difficulty in breathing?and often suffocation. Some victims died of heart failure. And sometimes a person would hang alive for days, finally succumbing to death as a welcomed relief.It wasn't until A.D. 337 that crucifixion was banned in Rome by the first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great. But by then thousands had been tortured on a cross?including one named Jesus Christ. Interestingly enough, it was out of reverence for this very Jesus that Constantine outlawed this method of execution three centuries later.When Jesus was crucified He voluntarily took the guilt of your sins and mine to the cross with Him. As death drew near, the Son of God summoned all of His human strength and said, 'It is finished!'What did that mean??'It is finished!' It meant that there was no more need for bloodshed. Never again would innocent lambs have to be sacrificed to atone for man's sins as had been done in Old Testament times. The blood flow was finished. Our salvation had been paid for in full!A famous preacher of yesteryear explained it in this fashion:

Terry, Lindsay