Passion Miracles by Susan L.

    There's one part of Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion" which stands out for me every time I have watched it. After Jesus had been scourged, Mary took soft, white cloths and began to mop up His precious blood from the stone floor. I know there's been much discussion about the graphic detail in the movie but in reality, the scourging was much worse. Every single bite of that metal tipped whip represented one sin. He accepted the burden, the sins of the entire world, without a cry: a miracle. It was a miracle He was still alive.
  The purple robe the soldiers threw over Him and the crown of thorns would have drawn even more life sustaining blood from His body. Head wounds bleed copiously. When they stripped Him of the robe, it would have torn away the places where the blood had begun to coagulate. Again, a miracle He continued to stand. A miracle He didn't go into shock.
  I believe that Simon being there to help Him bear His cross through the streets of Jerusalem was a miracle. Would not any other person have been left to die where they were? Why go through the work of having to crucify someone if they were nearly dead anyways. Not that anyone else could have even survived such a scourging. Lifting a solid cross and a inert body must take a lot of effort. I am sure the soldiers avoided the hard work when they could. It's a miracle that Jesus lived long enough for them to fulfill their orders. Did they ask themselves, "Why isn't He dead yet?"
  Miracles happened because God had ordained in the dawn of time that His Son would be crucified. Nothing would prevent that from happening. Jesus had to be the final Lamb of the old covenant and at the same time the First and only One of the new covenant. Works and laws would be laid to rest so Grace could set us free.
  When Jesus was mounted on the cross, His body torn and ravaged by the marks of sin, He spoke in a loud voice more than once. A loud voice takes breath. A loud voice takes the use of stomach muscles to project the sounds. With His arms outstretched, He would have had neither. Based on the design of our bodies, a whisper would have been impossible. I wonder what the soldiers and the others who had gathered thought of this miracle.
  Jesus had His faculties, His mind hadn't tried to escape the pain of His body. Both are miraculous beyond understanding. Often people who have experienced trauma like a car accident have no memory of those events. It's the mind's way of protecting itself.
  Jesus had to be present. He had to know exactly what He was doing. He had to be able to offer His life freely on behalf of the world. He had to reconcile us with our heavenly Father because that was why He was born of a virgin, the only Son of God. It's what the crucifixion was about: His, our, Father's heart and the washing away of sin so we may come to know the Lord as Jesus does. Jesus wanted that for us and paid the ultimate price.
  I've spent a lot of time submersed in the Passion story. My own sufferings have enabled me to relate in a much smaller way to what was done that mind boggling day on Calvary. The sins of one man brought me to my knees. How much more the Lord accepted for us!
  Because of Christ's sacrifice, we are His and He is ours. Forever. Simply asking forgiveness for our sins and inviting Jesus in to be Lord of our life is all that is required. That's the power of miracle born grace, a gift for us paid for by the blood of Christ. It is the most priceless present in the universe.
  "Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."" Jn 20:29