By the time the Friday morning sun dawned, Jesus had endured 12 grueling hours of incessant questions, beating, and mocking. He hadn’t been offered a bed to sleep in. He wasn’t offered the chance to rest until He could hire an attorney. No.
At eight o’clock in the morning the death sentence was pronounced on Jesus, an innocent man.
The shameful walk to Calvary began. An exhausted, feeble, blood-covered, pain-wrecked Jesus lugged a towering cross, knowing with each faltering step that He’d soon be nailed to the tree on His back.
At nine o’clock He lay willingly upon it. The rhythmic clank was deafening as the soldiers nailed Him in place. They lifted the cross high and dropped it into position, securing our Savior to the center of shame.
The insults and mockery drug on, laughs and snarls, pokes and prods. Yet, Jesus remained silent.
At noon, darkness shrouded the land, lasting for three hours.
Sometime before three o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus said, “It is finished.” And He breathed His last breath.
When He breathed His last, an earthquake rumbled, shaking the ground for miles, rattling open graves all around. At the same moment of His death, the heavy, solid curtain in the temple was ripped in two from top to bottom! God Himself tore that dividing wall open, signifying a new way to know God through the sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who gave Himself once for all!
Today—on Good Friday— do as the disciples did: think of sorrow. Allow yourself the time to imagine the excruciating pain and suffering endured by the Son of God on your behalf. Slow your pace today and ponder the losses He felt, the crushing weight of your sin, the pain of all your hurt.
Jesus is called the Man of Sorrows because He carried our griefs. Jesus paid our debt: yours and mine and that of the entire human race.
Allow yourself to feel some of what Jesus felt, some of what His family and His disciples felt. You will be better prepared for the great joy to come in two short days. #GoodFriday
I’ve thought about the pain Jesus suffered, and I’ve thought about the pain in my soul, knowing that my sin hung Jesus there. But I’ve never really thought about FEELING the pain Jesus and His disciples felt. Like most people, I’ve relegated that to a box in the dark corner of the attic, never to be disturbed because it is just too dismal.
Thank you for your post. I’m encouraged to dig it out and open the box, to wrestle with the feelings. Why? Because I want all the GREATER joy on Sunday Morning!
Fabulous passage
Wonderfully depicted!