Christmas Costs Less at Wal-Mart!

Just what does (did) Christmas cost?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:1-4

Jesus Christ; God himself; creator of all things, gave up a life in heaven for a 33 year life on earth. On earth he experienced the physical discomforts of pain, fatigue, hunger and thirst. Why? To show people the very face of God. To live among His creation and teach them... SHOW them God's love for them. He sacrified a life in heaven, a life in the daily presence of his father God. And while many people were accepting of his message and sought to follow him, many others ridiculed him and sought to do him harm. But he endured this for every one of us, even those who spit in his face, lied about him, and beat him brutally. He loved us all so much that he willingly, and literally, gave up his life. Can any of us imagine the pain of having someone you love so much you'd die for spit in our face, ridicule us, beat us, and sentence us to death?

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 1 John 1:10-14

In just the final hours of Jesus' life look at what it cost:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Lake/3894/easter/cruscourg.html
Scourging Practices (this is graphic)

Scourging, practiced by the Romans was a cruel punishment that usually preceded crucifixion. The only ones exempted from scourging were women, Roman senators and soldiers except in cases of desertion. Normally there were between one and six trained Roman officer called lictors who were responsible for dispensing the blows to the victims. The lictors chosen to administer the scourging had previously received special medical training. They knew how to wield the whip so as to open bruises which had already formed. The instrument used for scourging is a short whip called a flagrum or flagellum to which was attached several braided leather thongs of variable lengths. Knots were tied in the ends of each thong, and sheep bone or iron balls were inserted into the knots at the end of each thong. This whip is called a flagrum or flagellum.

The person to be scourged is stripped of his clothing and his hands are tied to a post. Roman soldiers repeatedly strike the victim's back, buttocks and legs with their full force causing deep contusions. Lacerations from repeated blows cut into the underlying muscles and rip the overlaying skin of the back to a point where it hangs in ribbons of bleeding flesh. The capillaries and veins were often torn causing intense bleeding and at times leaving the entrails exposed. Even once the victim fainted, if the lictors could feel a pulse and detect sufficient respiration, the beating would continue. Once the centurion in charge determined that the prisoner is near death, the beating is halted.

According to Jewish law the prisoner was to receiver no more than forty lashes. The Pharisees, always making sure that the law was strictly kept, insisted that only thirty nine lashes be given in case an error occurred during counting.(Deuteronomy 25:3) The Roman law did not have any set limit on the number of blows which could be administered.

The object of the scourging was to weaken the victim to a state of collapse and bring them as near to death as possible without killing them. Many did not survive this punishment and it was given the name "half death." The extent of blood loss may well have determined how long the victim would survive on the cross.

After the scourging, Jesus was mocked more, had a "crown" of thorns pushed onto his head, and made to carry his cross beam.

But, somehow, Wal-Mart has made Christmas cost less.