Pounding Nails

In the early 80's, Christian rock music gained popularity in the church community and one of my favorite bands was Undercover. Perhaps my interest in the band was due to some sort of prophetic message for my future career. (For the record, I am also a fan of The Police) One of their songs included this lyric, "Three nails, three days, one way to God." Understanding the significance of the three nails was my inspiration for this post and the story begins at the moment of Jesus' arrest.

“…Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: ‘The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.’ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed him.” (Matthew 26:47-49)

“When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, ‘Lord, should we strike with our swords?’ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.” (Luke 22:49-51)

“‘Put your sword back in its place,’ Jesus said to him, ‘for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?’”(Matthew 26:51-53) 

It occurs to me that the last guy Jesus healed before his crucifixion was a member of the posse sent to arrest him. It happened in the Garden of Gethsemane when Peter used his sword and hit a guy in the head. He was lucky he only lost an ear. Yet even in the chaos of his arrest, Jesus had compassion on a man who conspired against him and healed him.

Judas betrayed him. Peter denied him. All of his disciple’s fled. Yet it was the law enforcement detachment that carried out his arrest, torture and death sentence. Not one of the better moments for our profession. We were part of the conspiracy between the Chief Priest and Pontius Pilate. We beat him, flogged him, forced him to carry the cross on the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha, nailed him to the cross and stood by to watch him die.

We were very good at our craft. We hit him with the scourge 39 times because we knew that 40 strikes were likely to end a man’s life. We beat him to the point of death but not enough to kill him.

“Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.” (Matthew 27:27-31)

Once we got him to Golgotha, we made sure to nail him through his hands and feet in places that would not sever an artery. We put a small block of wood under his feet so he could push himself up for air to prolong the suffering of death from crucifixion. Still Jesus prayed for us, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

G.K. Chesterton, in his book The Everlasting Man, offers this insight on the events of the crucifixion. “All great groups that stood about the Cross represent in one way or another the great historical truth of the time; that the world could not save itself. Man could do no more. Rome and Jerusalem and Athens and everything else were going down like a sea turned into a slow cataract.”

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

It is troubling that even the people charged with upholding the law would throw in with a mob to torture and murder an innocent man. The reality is that we all participated directly in the crucifixion of Christ. Every Christian realizes sooner or later that it was for THEIR sin that Jesus died. In a way, I held the hammer and pounded the nails into his hands and feet. And yet there is hope, “for it is by grace you are saved through faith and it is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God.”

Three nails, three days, one way to God.