We will resume our discussion about heaven next week, but for now I want to focus on holy week. It’s the season when the followers of Christ are focused on how He suffered and died on the cross and after three days He arose from the grave. As the elements of the sacrament symbolize, this week is not really a jovial time, but rather calls for serious meditation on the price Jesus paid and being grateful for His gift of eternal salvation. It’s bittersweet since it’s never pleasant to imagine a person being brutally tortured (especially when they are innocent), but the fact that Jesus miraculously came back to life, is a demonstration of His infinite power and authority as the King of kings and why we should be filled with humility and joy. He did not just talk about love, He demonstrated His compassion by willingly surrendering His life so that we could live.
I admit I’m an emotional person. I remember going to see the Passion movie when it was released back in 2004 and I was broken to my core. It’s not uncommon for me to cry when I witness something that moves my soul and this ranks at the top of my list. As the scenes of what The Son of God went through was presented before me, I kept thinking how could anyone watch this and not know that He is truly Immanuel, The Lamb of God, The Messiah, and Savior? I’m not ashamed to wear my feelings on my sleeve when it comes to my love and loyalty to Him. We are constantly being pulled in every direction, and influenced to establish worldly things as our highest priority, but let us protect and preserve our spiritual sensitivity to avoid becoming hardened, cold, and uncaring.
We think about why He came to earth which is explained so clearly in the sixteenth verse of the third chapter of John, and read how He was betrayed by those He trusted and was denied by His closest friends. The government and religious community rejected His message, the general population mocked Him and eventually agreed to publicly execute Him on the grounds of blasphemy. For what? Simply and truthfully admitting He was the Son of God. Sadly, things have not really changed that much as He is still considered a heretic and His followers are persecuted. As Christians we know He is The way, The truth, and The life, and Him resurrecting from the dead proves He is the light of the world, The bread of life, and no one can convince us otherwise.
Jesus was constantly approached by those in desperate need and is His nature and character to be concerned and compassionate. Nothing has changed, He is still the same. The world has always been filled with human suffering and He is always ready to respond with love, grace, and mercy. He sees and hears everything, especially when someone calls upon Him to forgive and save them. Two thousand years later He is still pouring out His grace and forgiveness to anyone that will call upon His name. “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you” Psalm 86:5. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8. “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” I John 4:16.
There is only one reason Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified. He loved us. One of the core truths about our responsibility as His followers is that we allow His love to saturate and overflow within us. We seldom think about it, but He commands us to take up our cross and to die to self so that we can be resurrected as a new creation in Christ. As we meditate on His victorious mission, we are given a deeper understanding of who He is, and how He desires to live through us. Beyond the new clothes, the feasting, and the Easter festivities and customs, may we give honor and worship to our Creator who rescued us from our hopelessness. Dear friend, without being forgiven for our sins, we are carrying the weights and chains of misery in this life and the punishment of sin in the next. Come to Jesus today and He will save you and change your life forever.
