The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-03-23
CHRIST'S CROSS.
The Awful TOrments Preceding
the CrucifixiOn.
Sermon Preached in Brooklyn Tabernacle
on Sunday, March II, 1882, by
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage.
sUBJEcT-"THE CROSS THE CRossp


A cross was a gibbet ON which GRIM
inals were put to death. Sometimes it
was the shape of the letter T; some
times it was the shape of the letter X;
sometimes 1t was the shape of the letter
Ia simple upright; but always dis
graceful and always agOnizing. When
Darius took Babylon he put two hun
dred OF the captiyes on the cross. When
Alexander conquered Tyre he put two
thousand on the cross. SO that you see
it wBS common mode of punishment.
Yet have to tell you that in the great
| forest of crosses that stand ON the hills
and valleys of the earth there is one
cross that attracts the attention of all
nations. 1t was not any higher than
the others. The wood was no different.
There was nothing peculiar about the
notch at which the two pieces Joined,
and as to the scene itself, they saw
such things every few weeks. So that
L see reckless man walking about that
spot kicking aside skull, and wonder
ing what villain had so fiat and so un-
shapely a head. And here is another
skull, and there is another. Indeed, the
Bible says it was 'a place Of skulls"
And yet, in regard to one of the crosses
in that place, all ages cry out, who is
He? Was He a Manp Was He God?
Was He both man and GOdT" l come
up through the darkness of that gloomy
day so closely that l can see the face
of the victim, and l find who it is. 1t is
Jesusl How did He come there? Had
He Sauntered out some afternoon with
his friends to stand on that hill and
gain fine prospect and see brilliant
sunset? Oh! no. He was ill and eX-
hausted before He came there. We
| hear people wondering why Christ died
so quickly, when other victims lasted
forty eight hours on the cross. Christ
lasted only six or seven hours. | will
tell you the reason. He was sick and
exhausted before He came there. He
had been scOurged. We cry out against
the Old-time whipping post as though
it was very cruel; but that was mercy
compared with the scOuTging of Christ.
[ saw in the cathedral at Antwerp, Bel
gium, a picture Of the scOurging of
Christ. 1t was the most OVermastering
picture ever saw or ever expect to see.
The long -frOcked official opened door
that hid this picture from our vision,
and there was Jesus, His back barred and
bent; the tlagellatOr with his teeth
clenched over the under lip as if to give
more violence to the blow; the swollen
shoulders of Christ; the black and
blue marks that were denied even the
relief of bleeding; the flesh adheTing to
| the whips as they were lifted, the marks
where the knots of the whips gOuged
out the flesh; the prosecutor standing
with the left foot on the calf of the
| leg of the Savior, balancing himself;
such furious, such iendish looks from
those men grinning vengeance! Oh
| the picture seized me, exhausted me-
And yet Christ had not started for Cal
vary. 1t was only the whipping.
Are you ready for the journey to the
cross? The carpenters have cut and
split the timber into two pieces. They
are very heavy and very long beside, for
one of the pieces must go far down into
the earth, lest the struggles of the vic
tim upset the structure. They bring
out Christ weeping and wan and bleed
ing from that awful whipping; and
then they lift the timber and then they
let it down gradually on Him to see
whether he can carry it, and He sustains
it. Forward now to Calvary! He
moves on, but he is very weary and
very feeble, and he falls fiat; and then
they jerk at His robe and ask Him what
he means by that stumbling. And then
l see Jesus getting up, one hand on the
cross, the other on the ground, as He
rises and looks in The face of Mary, His
mother, for sympathy; but the Tuffians
| tell her to stand back-she must not
stand there crying. Jesus moves on
| u
and some nails. L wonder what they
are for. Christ moves on until after
while, unable any longer to bear the
load, He staggers and falls again and
faints dead away, and then rufian
comes up and puts his foot on Him and
shakes him as he would dead dog; and
then another looks down at him to see
whether he has really tainted or
whether he is pretending to faint, and
says: Tainted, have you?' And then
Jesus rescuscitates, and they say: "Get
mi Get uni Go OnP' And now we are
at the foot of the hill. Off with His
clothes What! Shall that lOathesOme
and unclean mob look on the unrObed
body of Christ? Yes. The ecOmmanding
officer says: "0ff with the girdle! Of
with the cOatl Strip Him" The work
is done. Bring back the coat! The
gamblers are tossing up coin on the
grass to see who shall have that coat
ut is mine," cries Tufian, as he rolls
it up and puts it under his arm or puts
his hands through il. Then they put
the cross fiat on the ground, and they
put Jesus on it, and three or four men
hold him down while the others drive
home the nails. At every thump q
grOan. He has now only one article O1
apparel, and that is a cap-and it is 6
cap of thOrns. No danger that it falls
OFF, for the sharp ends nave punctureC
the temples and it is sure and fast
Now lift the cross. One man at the enC
of the horizontal piece, another man a
the other end of the horizontal piece
another soldier puts his arm around tn,
waist of Christ, and another soldier
takes hold of the foot of the long beam
and they lift it together, and with aw
full plunge it jars down with its burdeI
of woe. There He is, not the picture o
Christ, not the statue Of Christ as il
Roman Catholic cathedrals, but tn
body of living, dying Redeemer. Som
say that Christ had five wounds. oh
they counted wrongl They cOuntet
! two for the hands and two for the fee
J and one for the side, and they make Ou
five wounds. But they forgot to eOun
the worst of the wounds and the mos
of the wounds. Do you know any thini
about the strength of that cap o
thOrns? l saw man on the ferry-b0a
with a specimen bramble brought frOn
( far country. 1t was just such bram
BILE as Christ's crown of thOrns wa
) made of. How sharp and cruel an,
, stubborn that bramble! When it wa
put on Christ do you say that he Onl
had five wounds. Aye, ten wounds
. twenty wounds, thirty wounds. 1 cal
, not count them.
There were two or three absences a