Crucifying the Body of Sin

I have seen pictures of religious annual festivals where people traditionally re-enact the crucifixion with people nailed to a cross.  It is one thing to do a stage production where the crucifixion of Jesus is shown, but for me it goes too far to shed real blood in a demonstration when Jesus already shed all His blood to provide atonement once for all sinners when He laid down His life (Hebrews 10:10).  The cutting and piercing of the flesh was a pagan practice in the Old Testament and was forbidden for God's people in the Law of Moses, and the mutilation of the body does nothing to sanctify anyone or honour God by obedience.  The aspect of crucifixion not copied in the festival was the whole point of the brutal Roman method of execution:  the killing of a person.

Perhaps some view the people with hands nailed to crosses and as pious and devout to voluntarily suffer such pains out of devotion to Christ.  I am reminded of Paul's words to believers who put themselves under self-imposed rules in Colossians 2:23:  "These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."  Submitting to having our palms pierced does nothing to prevent us from indulging our proud flesh.  Previously Paul explained how Jesus had already done everything for Christians to be purified and set apart unto God in Colossians 2:11-12:  "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."  There is no spiritual need for a man to be circumcised or to be crucified, for we have been raised with Jesus by faith in God, and His righteousness has been imputed to us by grace through faith.

To the end Christians would realise we who have been made new creations are to cease from sin, Paul wrote in Romans 6:3-7:  "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin."  Sin no longer has authority or power over us because we have died to it, and now we live with our risen Saviour and walk in newness of life.  Christians continue to live in a physical body that will see corruption, but we have been set free from sin and can choose to serve God instead.  In one sense we are dead and the life of Jesus is being lived out through us.

Far better than emulating the physical act of crucifixion in front of a crowd once a year would be to appropriate the spiritual implications of Christ crucified for believers daily in private.  This taking up our cross daily, following Christ and dying to self is alluded to in Galatians 5:24-25:  "And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."  Being physically nailed to a cross does not help anyone to walk in the Spirit.  We are called and divinely enabled by Jesus to bear fruit of the Holy Spirit rather than the works of the flesh as we crucify our sinful passions and desires.  God's word and the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin helps us identify sin in our hearts, confess it, repent and forsake it.  We live in the Spirit, and thus we can walk in the Spirit and do what pleases God.