What If We Had Witnessed Jesus’ Crucifixion?
The words on the page are vivid. So excruciatingly vivid that you wish the plot would read differently. Emotions catch in your throat, and suddenly, you’re there – part of the story.
“Stop!” you scream as soldiers viciously beat Jesus. But the slapping, mocking and whipping continues. You cover your ears, desperate to shut out the pounding of the hammer and the sound of Jesus’ screams as the nails tear through His flesh. When you look up, you see Him hanging on a wooden cross – beaten and bloody.
Unrecognizably bloody.
Six agonizing hours pass before He bows His head and dies.
“No!” You drop to your knees in devastating grief. “Why?!”
The scene fades, but your heart continues to ache. As you read on, more tears fall. Tears of amazement. Tears of indebtednes. After years of not understanding the gospel message, you finally get it.
“You suffered all of that …” you whisper as the reality sinks in “… for me?”
What would inspire such an act of amazing, incomprehensible love? Hebrews 12:2 (ESV) answers this question:
Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.
I’m confident Jesus looked forward to defeating Satan by His death, resurrection, and return to heaven. Yet as magnificent as those motivations were, I believe we (each one of us) were a big part of the joy that was set before Him.
Our heavenly Father knew that if Jesus didn’t die and rise from the grave, we would suffer the unbearable consequences of our sins – from the moment we were born all the way through eternity. Had Jesus not borne the punishment for our sins, life and death would be unimaginably, horrifically different.
Picture yourself enslaved to sin. Devoid of unconditional love. Hopeless with no assurance of an eternity with our Savior.
Thankfully, we don’t have to envision these scenarios.
Our Savior, “for the joy that was set before him,” chose to endure the cross – even before we knew we needed Him to.
What about you?
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this post. (Others might also benefit from your comment.)
- How different would your life be if Jesus had not died for you?
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How different would your life be if Jesus had not died for you?
I wonder where the Palm Sunday crowds went who lauded Him just a few days earlier. Did they turn-out on Palm Sunday to see Christ the celebrity, miracle worker, and perceived liberator from the Romans, or to see the true Savior of mankind? Why weren’t they at the cross? I can’t be critical because had I been in that crowd, I wonder if I would have been present a few days later.
Great questions, Robert. I especially love your last sentence! I appreciate your sweet, humble heart for your Savior.
May you experience God’s presence this holy season!
It’s beautiful. I had thought about this a lot and while I would like to think I would be agonizing over his death, I’m sure I wouldn’t have. I’m sure I would have been in the crowd yelling crucify him. I’m so thankful for a love so great that offers forgiveness to even us in the crowd.
I LOVE your honest ~ so real ~ comment Delores. Wow!
I’ll never forget when I finally realized the gravity of all of Jesus suffering for me, the flogging, bleeding, crown of thorns, humiliation from the Roman soldiers, carrying the cross on His flesh torn, swollen and bloodied back to Golgotha, and then being nailed to that cross and hanging for hours in excruciating pain for each and everyone of us before He gave up His Spirit to the Father and died for us. I was almost 37 when I became a true believer, so I lived still more than half of my life without really knowing Him intimately! Yes, because He knew me before the foundation of the world, He knew I would, but for many years I tried to live on my own failing miserably! Then after my salvation, I saw my filthy rags of sin, He died for, and I could barely stand it, as I confessed literally for days and knew there were many I couldn’t remember, too! But He forgave them all, forgot them, and buried them in the depths of the sea, way before I was even born! His perfect love that is totally inconceivable in our minds, yet He gave His life, so we could live with Him for eternity!! Yes, it still blows my mind that He would do this for me and you and all who accept this free gift of life! What an indescribable gift He gave to us! What amazing love He shares with us every day, because of all He did for us back then. We should always want to love and please Him daily with our actions and words towards others, and pray for others to come to know Him as we do! Thanks Sheryl!✝️❣️
Wow! I am touched by the candid comments made by you, Robert and Delores, Kim!
Kim, your words can be echoed by millions of us! Thank you for wording our thoughts so well.
Today I hope to remember God’s great love for me as I think about all Good Friday represents.