And all of it led up to this day – the day on which He was crucified on that cruel cross on Golgotha. But that’s not where the suffering began. Before He was ever led up that lonely hill, He had already been tortured and beaten until his face was absolutely unrecognizable. Alvie used to talk about how they scourged Him. They took a whip that had a bunch of strands of leather, on which was tied little sharp fragments of bone, maybe metal; and they whipped him with it – every lash ripping the flesh from His body. He had already been betrayed by those He loved – some of the very ones who knew exactly who He was. Yet, they turned their back on Him. He was shamed and humiliated by the multitude. And one of the things that really gets me is that He knew all of this was coming; but He was still willing to do it all – for me. HE DID NOT WANT TO GO TO THE CROSS. He knew it was His Father’s will and His own purpose; but He still had to go to the Garden three times. There, He prayed that perhaps God would find a different way – that the cup would pass from Him. Alone there, He prayed in the garden until His sweat ran down as great drops of blood. But in the end, He got willing to go. And there, angels came and ministered to Him. Wow! That’s amazing to me. I like to think that maybe the angel came and spoke words of encouragement and comfort to Him – something like, “You can do this! Yes, it’s going to be hard; but it’ll only last for a little while, and then you’ll be glorified and back home with us in Heaven!” And after He got willing, it all fell into place. You know the story. At least I hope you do. If you don’t, PLEASE go read it. Even if you know the story, it would be a good day to read it again and just remember His death and His suffering – because He did it all for us, folks.
On Sunday, we’ll celebrate Easter. The kids will come out to church, all decked out in their new clothes. They’ll have Easter baskets, get candy, and hunt Easter Eggs. But what we’re celebrating is that over two-thousand years ago, an angel rolled away the stone from a borrowed grave, walked over to body of Jesus; and I like to think he placed his hand on His shoulder, gently shaking Him, and said, “Master… wake up.” And He did. He woke up! Thank God, He arose! But still to me, the greatest part of the story, is that He knew what was coming, yet He was willing to go through it all – not just for the ones who would receive Him, but for the sins of the entire world. Probably the greater majority of people since that time have denied Him – and He knew they would – but He did it anyhow. What a precious, loving Savior.
-BYRD
