13th century crucifix, Church of San Martín, Frómista, Castile y León, Spain

Psalm 88: 6-7a You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily upon me….

The agony had started in the garden. Jesus knew what was ahead; he had been part of the eternal plan before the foundation of the world. The second person of the Trinity had taken on human flesh, true God becoming true man, to bear the punishment for the sins of his heedless and hostile creation. The climax of redemption was near. Jesus had been living thirty-three years on earth, a real man with a real body that would bleed and nerves that would transmit searing pain, and a mind that could contemplate rejection and the horror of the cross. What was ahead was the agreed-upon will of God; it was right and would lead to glory, but the suffering would be unimaginable. It wouldn’t just be the torture of crucifixion, Keep reading