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Read Luke 23:48

And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow. (Luke 23:48)

Our Lord has modelled the art of dying.

Read John 10:18, Psalm 31:5

“No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again.” (John 10:18)

Read Luke 23:45

The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. (Luke 23:45)

How do we know that Christ’s atonement satisfied God the Father and fully covered humankind’s sin? First, the veil of the temple which separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, where the presence of God resided was torn in two. Only the High Priest could enter that small, ultra-sacred room once a year, on the Day of Atonement. But when the veil was split, no longer did a wall of partition stand between humanity and God.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:21

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus’ sixth statement on the cross was not a cry of anguish; it was a declaration of victory. He had reached the goal and was able to say, “It is finished. Mission accomplished. It’s over.”

Read John 19:28; Psalm 69:20–21

Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28)

Though Jesus became a man, He never was anything less than God. Yet He voluntarily gave up His own rights as God the Son. He submitted Himself to God the Father, so that every word He spoke was as God had Him speak it, and every act was done precisely as God would have Him do it.

Read Matthew 27:45–46; Mark 15:33

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock....Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:45–46)

Jesus barely clung to life. He was still pushing Himself up against the raw wooden beam to breathe, and then he would slump back down, hanging from the iron nails in His hands. Up and down...up and down. The pain must have been maddening by now.

Read John 19:26–27

When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” (John 19:26–27)

What a contrast we have at the cross! God’s perfect sacrifice—His Lamb—hung there in agony, giving His life, shedding His blood for the sins of the world. Heaven stood breathless, as the salvation of the world was being completed. And at the feet of the Lord Jesus, four coarse, sin-hardened soldiers were shooting dice for garments. The contrast is profound.

Read Luke 23:42–43

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42–43)

We are not surprised to find a God-ordained and therefore significant reason behind the arrangement of Golgotha’s three crosses. It gave Jesus an opportunity to reach out in hope and compassion to those desperately in need. But make no mistake: He did so while continuing to endure inexpressible pain.

Read Luke 23:34

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Though I realize it had to be, though I understand what it accomplished, and though I know that a brilliant dawn awaited Him who endured the darkest of all days, I am unable to shake free from the sound of those square nails being pounded into place. I cannot erase from my mind “the very dying form of One who suffered there for me.” Perhaps I shouldn’t try. And perhaps you shouldn’t either.

Read Mark 15:24

Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. (Mark 15:24)

Crucifixion ranks right up there on the short list of the most painful and torturous deaths ever devised. In the first century, the cross meant death...but not just any death. It meant the most hideous, anguished death imaginable.

Each time I return to Golgotha and relive the horror of His final suffering, I am more deeply thankful for my Savior’s willingness to suffer as He did in my place. I also realize how inadequate I am to express my profound gratitude.