Come Follow Me: The Savior's Final Days and His Atonement

"Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite Atonement"

There are many things that happened during the Savior's final mortal days. There is of course when He suffered in Gethsemane, was captured by the Jews, given to Pilate, and then crucified. As members of the church, we tend to focus a lot on when He suffered in the garden of Gethsemane. I remember some non-denominational Christians asking me one time why we focused so much on Gethsemane as Latter-day Saints, instead of focusing on the Crucifixion.

It's true that we do focus more on Gethsemane than other Christian religions do. And I think the main reason for that is because of what we learned about it from modern revelation. We've learned through modern revelation that the Garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus began the Atonement. It's where his greatest suffering started. However, what we tend to forget is that Gethsemane is not where the Savior's suffering ended. His performance of the Atonement extended beyond his suffering in the garden.

We know that part of Jesus Christ's Atonement was bearing our griefs and afflictions--literally feeling all of the pains and afflictions that we would ever experience. We sometimes imagine that this was all just piled on top of him while He was in the Garden of Gethsemane--and that everything else that happened to Him after that was somehow a separate experience. But, if you think about it, there's a lot of pains and afflictions that we've had to deal with that Christ experienced too after the Garden of Gethsemane.

For one thing, Jesus Christ knows how it feels to be falsely accused--to be punished and publicly shamed for something that He did not do. He even felt what it was like to be falsely accused by his church leaders--the people who should have been aiding and defending Him the most. Sadly, there are members of the church who have been betrayed, or even outright abused by their church leaders. They've had to grapple not only with the pain of what happened, but also the confusion and trauma of it happening at the hands of someone they trusted. The Savior knows how that feels. He knows what it's like to have someone in a position of trust physically and verbally abuse him, both in public and in private. We do not have any accounts or evidence, but it is also even possible that Christ experienced sexual abuse during these final days. During this time, He was taken into the hands of many wicked and degenerate men (from the Jewish council, to the prison of Pilate, the hall of Herod, back to Pilate, and even held in prison with a convicted murderer, Barabbas) men who were depraved enough to crucify their God. It is entirely possible that they also abused the most sacred parts of His physical body.

The Savior was physically tortured many times during His final days. He was beaten and spit upon by the Jews, then scourged by the Romans and forced to wear a crown of plaited thorns. It's very unlikely that he was given adequate food or water--therefore, he would have had to suffer all the negative effects that come with starvation and dehydration. All the while, He had to endure countless interrogations ranging from the polite, yet frustrating, one he had with Pilate, to being "put on trial" by the Jewish council, and also being questioned by Herod.

Then, after suffering through all of this (which would have already killed most normal people by this point), He had to suffer through one of the most painful types of execution imaginable: crucifixion. The whole point of crucifixion was to show people what happened when they crossed the Roman empire. As such, it was as painfully drawn out as possible. Imagine being tied, or nailed, to a wooden beam and then left outside in the elements with no food or water for multiple days. Now imagine that you've been nailed to that wooden beam for days after having already been starved, beaten, whipped within an inch of death, and betrayed by everyone you should have been able to trust. On top of that, imagine that you are going through all of this, whilst simultaneously having the Holy Ghost (who'd been with you for your entire life) who was essentially the only comfort you had left at this point, taken away from you. Christ knows how it feels to have your entire world come crashing down, all at once.

Beyond everything listed above, we also know that all the sufferings and afflictions that Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane returned to Him while He was on the cross. But why would He have to go through all of that a second time? Well, in my opinion, it's because we as human beings often have our trials return to us, and often have to struggle with them more than once. Because of what He experienced on the cross, Christ knows how it feels to have to struggle with something more than once. He knows how it feels to struggle with an addiction, to think that it's over, only to then relapse. He knows how it feels to escape an abuser, to think that you're safe, only to then be abused a second time. He knows how it feels to have a loved one die, only to then have yet another loved one die only a short time later. He knows how it feels to struggle with depression and anxiety, and other mental illnesses, to overcome them, only to have them come back years later and make you feel like you've accomplished nothing and gotten nowhere.

The Savior knows what it's like to go through all this suffering, whilst other people look on, "wagging their heads" and saying how it's all his fault. He knows what it's like to be at the lowest point in life, a time when others should be supporting you, and have people rail and slander you. To already be suffering and have other people pour salt in the wound with their thoughtless, careless words. He knows what it's like to have your suffering be mocked, to have your pains and afflictions be the butt of somebody's joke.

And the thing that strikes me so hard, is that the Savior refused to have any of his pain be deadened or cheapened. When the Romans attempted to drug him (one of the few acts of mercy allowed for victims of crucifixion), He refused. He didn't want His pain to be deadened or dulled. He didn't have any angels come down to strengthen Him like they had in the garden. He didn't even have the Holy Ghost to help Him. In order to truly know and understand the depth and extent of human pain, He not only experienced all of it, but He also experienced it alone. Sure, he had John, and several women (including his mother) at the foot of the cross, but there was little that they could do for Him except weep. Sometimes, we humans choose to go through our pains and afflictions alone, without asking for help. The Savior chose to do the same--so that He could know how we feel when we stubbornly reject His help.

Perhaps the most powerful thing about the Atonement, was that the Savior chose to go through with it knowing that there would be a large percentage of people who would never even accept it. Imagine going through everything He went through so that your brothers and sisters could have a chance to be eternally happy--only to watch them say "Nah!", and go off and completely forget about everything you've done for them. Perhaps that's the greatest pain of all that He's had to bear. To watch someone suffer through life, knowing that there's absolutely nothing more that He can do for them, except watch them and hope that they one day take His hand and finally accept His gift.  He knows what it's like to watch your loved one suffer, and not be able to do anything for them because they reject your help, or because of they have physical or mental health condition that prevents them from receiving your help. He knows what it's like to watch someone you love destroy themselves--even after you've done everything you possibly could for them. He knows how a therapist feels when one of their clients, who've they been working with for months or even years, commits suicide. He knows what it's like to be a young man, watching his nation tear itself apart, ignoring his pleas for peace and compromise.

Another thing that we forget about the Atonement is that it didn't happen in the past--it's still going on right now! The Book of Mormon, in 2 Nephi 9:7 says that it was an "infinite Atonement". What does "infinite" mean? Well, if you look at the translation of the word it comes from the Latin word "in" which means "not", and the Latin word "finite" which means "finished". Therefore the Atonement is literally "not finished". Why? Because you're still alive, experiencing pain and sorrow. The Savior didn't just suffer for your pains and sins in the Garden and on the cross--he's sharing your pain with you right now, in real time.