There are no words ...

Albrecht Dürer The Crucifixion 1511 Print, National Gallery of Art, NGO Image, Public Domain

"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed" ( 1 Peter 2:24, NIV).

  There is a word for the inability to express, contain or bring forth adequately in words something too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.  It is a word beyond indescribable because even something being indescribable seems to venture possibility of trying to express something in words but failing in the end to accomplish the goal of expression.  The word, ineffable defines the inability to express, contain or bring forth adequately in words something too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words. Yet even this stronger word is inadequate to express or contain the smallest amount of all that the Crucifixion of Christ offers, brings about, guarantees and entails to us and for us, in redeeming and saving us through the mercy, love and grace of God.  There simply are no words for all Christ does in His suffering and death and all He gifts us through the laying down His life.

    There are no words to express what Christ suffered before, leading up to His death and upon the cross.  There are no words for what Christ endured as He died for our sin. There are no words to describe the loneliness of being alone in His decision to submit to Father’s will as He was being abandoned by almost all of His followers and admirers.  There are no words to describe the massive and in-comprehendible amounts of rejection as He faced His impending death. From the taunting and scoffing to the damming condemnation by the religious, the common and those in authority is unrelenting even though He only loved, taught and healed as the “Light of the World.” The weight of this indescribable psychological, unbelievable emotional and ineffable spiritual pressure upon His heart and mind brings us again to the complete inability to express all that was laid upon on the “Son of God” as He offered himself willingly to His destiny.

     There are no words to describe the scourging, roughness and brutal beatings inflicted with sadist glee upon the Savior.  Just shy of the bringing death; the flesh, muscle and tissue opened up to bleed forth much of life of this fully human, god self-limiting man stumbling towards the cursed cross.  The crown, He wore … both literally and symbolically brought excruciating pain as it was smashed viciously into His brow with purposeful visual intended irony and mockery.

     There are not words to describe the crucifixion, where death was seemingly both intended and denied as time passed in the wretched planned duration of judgment inflicted through its excruciating methods and procedures of torture and pain.  The weight of the body of the Savior pulled against the tendon and bone barely sufficient to sustain the continuance of this terrible agony.  Even as the physical pain can be somewhat described; again there are no words which can describe the weight of the sin of the world hanging upon the Holy Son by His dying to redeem all the peoples of the world for all time.

     Finally, there are no words to describe the separation at the Crucifixion of the Son from the Father (Matthew 27:46). A separation unknown from everlasting to everlasting as the Father turned away as the Son took on the sin of the world to redeem the world in bringing eternal salvation to all who would believe. This is the ultimate act of love of the Christ in His willingness to bear the sin of the world separated from His Father as He completely guarantees the salvation of all people from their sin.  When Christ said, “It is finished!” from the cross (John 19:30); all that was required had been given as to secure God’s grace for all time to all of  the world.

     At the cross God takes all that Christ suffered and released in the laying down of His life, to forgive all sin totally and completely. His forgiveness towards us is without measure or limitation as to guarantee our relationship as His child by Christ’s grace with His immeasurable love sealed by His Holy Spirit as our eternal inheritance. This is gift, given to us at the cross.  

           

  Are there words to describe such a gift to each one of us?