Mark 15:22-24
It
was just another day at work. Nothing unusual, nothing special. Life is made up
of many days like this. Not much going on, and not much different from the day
before. Take a moment and think about the most exciting job you can imagine.
What tasks would have to be done repeatedly? Even the new might become routine.
You know when you wake up that there will be something new, so it isn’t really
pulling you out of bed.
Even
soldiers who constantly do very dangerous and difficult missions get bored.
They have to go on “another” mission. The people and places change, but they go
about it the same way they have gone about every other mission. They get the
updated intelligence briefing. They reconsider the courses of action based on
the new information. They do their safety brief. They mount up, and off they
go. After the mission they do an After Action Report and then kick back and
relax. There are a thousand other things included in the mission, but even the
missions that go wrong have been rehearsed. They have trained what to do if
their vehicles get destroyed. They have trained how to survive behind enemy
lines. They have trained what to do with a pretty woman. (Just kidding, they
haven’t trained that!)
Just
about everything gets boring if you do it enough. That’s why people try
different things, learn new skills, conquer their fears, travel the world, and even
make new relationships. Life can get boring.
I
am sure the soldiers at the cross were bored. Crucifixion was common during
their day. They had probably nailed any number of people to a cross. They knew
how to tie their hands and feet so they would move and mess things up. They
knew to offer them some drugs right up front to make their job easier. All that
screaming and yelling used to give them nightmares. They don’t anymore. They
probably even gambled over lots of sets of clothes. Soldiers can always use a
little extra spending money.
They
were even equipped for multiple crucifixions on the same day. They had their
upright poles there at hand. They had the holes in the ground already prepared
to receive the uprights. They had the ropes to help hoist the cross and its
passenger to the fully upright and locked position. They knew how to handle
upset families and friends. They had heard all the bribe offers and personal
attacks before. This was old hat to them. They had the routine down.
So
up comes their package for today’s events. It was a triple! They might have
been briefed about the two planned before they went on shift, but the third might
have been an add-on. But they had done add-ons before. Remember, it had been a
quick capture and trial. They knew what to do. They went to their supply box
and grabbed another set of ropes and spikes. They always had the uprights
readily available.
Some
of the soldiers at the site would have been veterans of this action. There
might have been a newly assigned soldier in a helping role, learning the ropes,
so to speak. But there wouldn’t have been any fumbling around looking for nails
or ropes. They wouldn’t have dropped the cross and the package while hoisting
it into place. They would have practiced it until they could do it
professionally. After all, this was spectacle. They were putting on a show.
They were demonstrating the power of Rome to take care of those who opposed
them. Rome couldn’t afford survivors! It was a demonstration of the cruelty and
pain waiting for anyone who would dare to oppose.