When sports fans get together sometimes they argue who they feel is the greatest of all competitors. A number of publications and media outlets published their list of the Top 100 Athletes of the Century this past year. Many people were outraged that their favorite sports hero was not mentioned, or did not rank as high as they thought they should be.
Many of us define a true competitor as a champion. One who is strong and mighty. One who overcomes adversity, always prevails and claims victory. History is filled with them. But there is only one Ultimate Competitor. His name is Jesus Christ.
Not My Will, But Yours

At approximately 11:00 pm one evening, Jesus and his eleven men (the disciples) walked to one of their favorite spots on the base of the Mount of Olives, known as the Garden of Gethsemane. At the garden entrance, Jesus left his eight men, then took three others with him as they walked to the center of the garden. After a few minutes Jesus left them, then going a little bit further, Jesus fell to the ground in complete agony. It was in the cool of the evening, yet Jesus was sweating as it poured off his body. As Jesus lay on the ground, He yelled out, "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42).

Jesus used the word "cup" to refer to this particular portion of His life. He was saying He did not want to go through with the crucifixion if there could be another way to accomplish His father's purpose.

There is nothing wrong with the desire to quit. Every athlete has within themselves that desire when the going gets extremely tough. The natural tendency is to quit. How you handle that desire determines if you are a winner from God's standpoint.

Jesus said, "Not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). Jesus gave up his own desires to follow the desire of His father, even to the point of death! This is the mark of a true competitor, a true champion.

The Scourging

A very brutal scene soon followed for Jesus in the form of the Roman scorge. Jesus' actions revealed yet again His characteristics of an Ultimate Competitor.

After Jesus' final trial before Pilate, the Roman governor had Jesus scourged (Matthew 27:26 and Mark 15:15) - a very cruel act that was completely unnessary. Unlike the Jewish scourging, in which the victim could not receive more than forty lashes (Deuteronomy 25:1-3), Roman law was not so humane.

A lictor, trained in the ghoulish art of tortue, administered the scourging with an instrument called a flagellum. This has a round, wooden handle that had strips of leather attached to it. Into the ends of these strips were sewn pieces of bone or small iron chains. The lictor had no limits to the lashes he could deliver, and no part of the body was off-limits. (1)
Jesus was stripped and then tied to a low stone column. In vivid detail modern day medical doctors have recreated this gruesome event.
As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim's back with full force, the iron balls would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss generally set the stage for circulatory shock. The extent of blood loss well have determined how long a victim would survive on the cross...(2)

The severe scourging, with its intense pain and appreciable blood loss, most probably left Jesus in a pre-shock state.

The Robe

Jesus' suffering was far from over. The cruel soldiers, who had circled around His bloody body like vultures, now moved in to pick at the remains.
"But first they took him into the armory and called out the entire contingent. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him..." (Matthew 27:27-28)
This was not a long, flowing robe. The Greek term chlamus indicates a short cloak worn over the shoulders. Standing there, naked from the waist down, Jesus became the object of their vulgar remarks.

The Crown

Then came more violence.
"And made a crown from thorns and put it on his head, and placed a stick in his right hand as a scepter and knelt before him in mockery. 'Hail, King of the Jews,' they yelled. And they spat on him and grabbed the stick and beat him on the head with it. After the mockery, they took off the robe and put his own garments on him again, and took him out to crucify him." (Matthew 27:29-31)
Mocking, jeering, abusing - it's as if each soldier was trying to top each other's joke. Each took his turn spitting on Jesus...cursing His name.... slapping and jabbing Him with a stick...punching His chest with their fists. Jesus, upon God would soon bestow a name above every name. Jesus, at whose name every knee would someday bow. Jesus, before whom every tongue would someday confess He is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). But for now, all that was offered this king was spit, swearing, and punches. And Jesus bore it all with silent, patient dignity (1 Peter 2:23).

The Cross

After dressing Jesus, the soldiers followed their usual course with criminals: such a victim was surrounded by four Roman soldiers and led by a centurion, all the while struggling to carry the six-foot crossbeam that would later by attached to the larger, vertical post of the cross. And so it was with Jesus. After the scourging and beating, however, Jesus was too weak to carry the beam Himself. Matthew tells us that Simon of Cyrene was pressed into service to help Him (Matthew 27:32).
Above Jesus' head would hang a sign declaring His "crime": This is Jesus the King of the Jews (Matthew 27:37). Pilate had it written not only in Hebrew, so the Jews could read it, but also in Latin for the Romans and in Greek for the more educated in the crowd (John 19:20). No one was going to miss the meaning of what was about to happen.
The Crucifixion

Crucifixion was a barbaric form of capital punishment that originated in Persia. The Persians believed that the earth was sacred to Omuzd, the earth god, so death should not contaminate the earth. Criminals, therefore were fastened to vertical beams of wood by iron spikes and hung above the earth to die - from exposure, exhaustion, or suffocation. Death was painfully slow and publicly humiliating.
The executioner laid the crossbeam behind Jesus and brought him to the ground quickly by grasping his arm and pulling him backward. As soon as Jesus fell, the beam was fitted under the back of his neck and on each side, soldiers quickly knelt on the inside of the elbows...the thorns pressed against his torn scalp.
Two soldiers grabbed each side of the crossbeam and lifted. As they pulled up, they dragged Jesus by the wrists. With every breath, he groaned. When the soldiers reached the upright, the four of them began to lift the crossbeam higher until the feet of Jesus were off the ground. The body writhed in pain.
When the crossbeam was set firmly, the executioner knelt before the cross. Two soldiers hurried to help, and each one took hold of a leg at the calf. The ritual was to nail the right foot over the left, and this was probably the most difficult part of the job. Over the years, the Romans learned to push the feet upward on the cross, so that the condemned man could lean on the nails and stretch himself upward to breathe. (3)
The Agony and Death

Excruciating pain stabbed Jesus' body as He hung on unbending nails. The pain in his wrists was beyond bearing, and the muscle cramps knotted his forearms, upper arms and his shoulders. His pectoral muscles at the side of his chest were momentarily paralyzed. This induced an involuntary panic; he found that while he could draw air into his lungs, he was powerless to exhale.
At once, Jesus raised himself on his bleeding feet. As the weight of his body came down on the insteps, the single nail pressed hard against the top of the wound. Slowly, steadily, Jesus was forced to raise himself higher until, for a moment, his head hid the sign which told of his crime.
When his shoulders were on level with his hands, breathing was rapid and easier. He fough the pain in his feet in order to breathe rapidly for a few moments. Then, unable to bear the pain below, which cramped legs and thighs and wrung moans from the strongest of men, he let his torso sag lower and lower, and his knees projected a little at a time until, with a deep sigh, he felt himself to be hanged by the wrists. And this process must have been repeated again and again. (4)

In every crucifixion, fever would inevitably set in, inflaming the wounds and creating an insatiable thirst. When Jesus requested some water, they handed him vinegar. Waves of hallucinations would drift the victim in and out of consciousness. In times, flies and other insects would find their way into the open wounds.

There were two thieves on the crosses next to Jesus, one on each side. One thief mocked Jesus saying, "If you are really the Christ, save yourself and save us" (Luke 23:39). The other thief then rebuked him for what he said to Jesus, saying, "Don't you see that we are both in the same judgment, but this man Jesus, has done nothing wrong." He then looked across to Jesus and said, "Lord when you come again into your kingdom, remember me." Jesus then replied, "Today, you shall be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:40-43).

The thief recognized Jesus as the one God sent to be the Savior of the world. Because he had a repentant heart, called Him Lord, and trusted Jesus with his soul, Jesus told him he would spend eternity in heaven.
Probably worst of all, was when the Father had to turn His back on His Son, Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 it is written, "God made him who had on sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus actually became sin on the cross. The Father had to turn His back on the sin and His Son. Jesus then cried out, "Lord, Lord, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). But the Father did not forsake Him, He raised Him up from the dead. This is when the sky turned black and the veil of the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Jesus cried out, "It is finished" and breathed His last breath. Even after Jesus was dead, the Roman soldiers put a spear in His side to ensure death. Out from Jesus' body came blood and water and spilled into a pool at the foot of the cross. In Hebrews 9:22, God said that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. Yet, He did this because He loved us. God needed a blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus took our place. Sin had to be dealt with, and Jesus dealt with it for us on the cross.

Jesus could have kept Himself from this torturous death. He could have chosen not to have gone His Father's way. Jesus could have saved Himself from the cross by denying He was God, then his prosecutors would have dropped the case against him and the crucifixion would have never occurred. At any point Jesus could have quit. Yet, He was totally giving Himself and all He had toward God's purpose in this situation. Jesus totally gave Himself to you at this time. At any point, Jesus could have turned back from His mission, but he was the Ultimate Competitor. Even to the point of death, Jesus did not quit. He was a champion, winning an everlasting victory for you!
The Everlasting Victory

From the world's viewpoint, when Jesus hung dead upon the cross, it looked as though He had been defeated and was a loser. Yet, this provided a setting for the greatest event in history to take place.
On the third day, Jesus defeated death and was raised from a sealed and guarded tomb where he was laid. His resurrection from the dead demonstrates the power available to us, enabling us to live above our circumstances. Because of what God had done for us through His Son, Jesus, we never have to look at a defeat in an athletic competition as a loss. A temporary defeat is now a learning situation where we can bring more of our potential to the surface.

God's Perspective

Too many people tend to compare their present performance with those of the past, or even expectations of the future. Do not let that get in the way. Athletic performance can vary from competition to competition due to sickness, injuries, weather, rest, etc. It is our responsibility to give all of what we have at the moment, not what we do not have within. Your only comparison is with Jesus Christ. Statistics depend on game conditions. God's perspective on winning depends only upon how you perform in relation to giving all that you have to give. Leaving nothing behind, just like Jesus did on the cross.

Let's say an athlete has a personal best 18:20 in a 5k race, then the athlete competes the next time and only runs a 18:56, this is failure from the world's view, but this performance can still be a victory from God's perspective. One must realize that you can still be a loser even if you statistically better your performance. How can that be? It depends entirely on how much one gives of themselves to perform as Jesus would - with the same attitude and intensity He would have.

A Christ-like athlete will never be sidetracked by the score, who the opponents is, or even the situation. A Christ-like athlete would be focused on the though of representing Jesus, to compete to please Him in all that we would say and do. As we compete in this manner, we will know with confidence that the results of the competition will be His, to bring glory and honor to Him! When this is our focus as Christ-like athletes, we too can become Ultimate Competitors - Ultimate Competitors in Christ!
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men." (Collossians 3:32)

"If you can?' said Jesus. 'Everything is possible for him who believes." (Mark 9:23)

"I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phillipians 3:14)

"I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength." (Phillippians 4:13)
(1) Bishop, Jim. The Day Christ Died (New York, NY: Harper and Brothers, 1957). pp.290-291.

(2) Edward, Gabel, and Hosmer, "On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ," in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, March 21, 1986, pp. 1457-58.

(3) Bishop, The Day Christ Died, pp.311-12.

(4) Bishop, The Day Christ Died, p. 313.
To The Next Level (c) 2000, 2001 Reprinted with permission.