The real story of Christ’s death abd resurrection can be found in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible talks about Jesus, who is God, and explains all of the questions that we have concerning who God is and what sort of relationship He desires with man. From what I read in the Bible and what I experience in my life today, I am certain that God is a loving God not a big-eyed judgey person that I was raised to be afraid of and run away from. The death and resurrection of Jesus(the real reason for Easter not the bunnies or eggs; -) ) happened to restore the Father-daughter, Groom-Bride relationship that God desires with me and had been marred by the existence of sin. Jesus overcame sin and death.
I’ll write more on the subject in another post but for now here’s a piece I wrote in 2011 based on the Biblical story of Christ’s crucifixion. (For more on the story, read the book of John in the Bible)
JESUS'(COM)PASSION
He could barely put one foot infront of the other as he dragged himself up the hill. He walked, his back stooped, the wood digging deeper into his open skin with each step. His breath was coming in short gasps as he tried not to faint from the weight and the pain.
Oh the pain!
It was excruciating. It seemed to tear his whole being apart. The soldiers had hit it severely with a whip. He wanted to take off his clothes. It was too hot. He was starting to sweat. The salty drops of sweat mixed with blood which was all over His body and it caused his garments to cling onto Him, making the wounds even more painful. His back was torn. The soldiers’ whips strung with lead, had seen to that.
He looked up to the top of the hill- Golgotha. The Place of skull. A cold shiver went up his spine. Fear gripped him. He was afraid of what he knew was coming.
“Oh God, God have mercy,” He breathed. Perhaps it hurt even more because He was fully God and knew what was going to happen but fully man and therefore unable to escape the pain.
His knees gave way and he fell the cross still on his back. A whip hit him right across his cheek, he felt the warm blood ooze from his cheek and nose.
“Get up!”, the soldier barked, kicking him ferociously in the ribs. Another spat on him. He heard the mocking words, the sneers,
“Save yourself!” they shouted as they threw stones at Him and laughed in his face.
He had been betrayed by one of his closest friends, his other friend had denied him. His clothes were torn and they dripped with crimson. His whole body ached, and yet the strongest feeling that rose in his chest at that time was not anger. No, it was love. The strongest love that has ever existed since the world began.
He looked at their faces contorted with anger and misdirected rage and he felt compassion towards them. They were like lost sheep without a shepherd. If they only knew………
“Pass the nails!” he half-heard someone shout, he was trying hard not to lose conscious as the blood kept on oozing profusely from his body. He clenched his jaws but the piercing scream escaped his lips as the nail went through flesh and bone. The soldier pounded without any feeling of pity or remorse. He was only doing his job.
Jesus groaned and mourned. The pain was unbearable, the nails tore his flesh and the cross was lifted up……… up high on Golgotha where everyone outside the city could see “THE KING OF THE JEWS”. The sins of the world from ages past and ages to come weighed him down. All the curses that could ever befall a man due to sin were upon Him. His body was in agony because of the beatings and torture it had suffered. He could no longer be recognised as a human being. It was just a maimed, distorted figure.
“Father……”, he murmured, “Father…….” He needed Him, of all the times since his earthly ministry, this is when he needed His dad the most.
Where was He? They were One- they had been together before the world began, they had designed the world together and now…..
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” He cried out, his voice cracked with agony and pain.
Jesus looked down from the cross to his mother and friends. His mother had stopped weeping and was now sobbing out His name in grief. His friends (those who had not run away in fear) looked at Him- in disbelief. He knew what they were thinking. This is the guy they had believed would be their King, they had even accepted Him as the Messiah, their saviour and here he was beaten up beyond recognition – helpless, naked, bleeding and mourning on the cross. A cross, the most despised kind of execution. It was reserved for the low-lifes and criminals.
Jesus sighed. He felt pity towards them, they still did not understand. A twinge of human loneliness and heartache grabbed at Him. Most of them had left, even Peter who had thought he loved Him unfailingly. He saw some familiar faces of people who had followed him and listened to his teaching with eagerness and raw hunger. They were the same faces mocking him now,
“Save yourself if you’re truly the son of God” they screamed and spat out. He wasn’t angry – not in the least. After all they were just human beings – prone to sin and evil. His heart swelled with compassion and longing. He thought of the ages past, of the evil that had almost consumed humanity. He thought of the present and He saw the future. They would not come to Him, for they would not realise that their human desires, their very nature, was their worst enemy and it was only when they turned to God that they would live.
“Yes I’ll die for them. Whether they hate me now and hit me – no matter how great their sin and evil, I’ll carry it. I’ll be forsaken by my Father and Friend. I’ll be cursed for hanging on a tree. Indeed I’ll even go to the depths of hell-into the very pit of death. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll even send them the Holy Spirit to explain to them everything. I’ll pay with my Holy, precious blood a price that they cannot pay. Then we will live together, I’ll give them my joy, peace and my righteousness. They’ll be my co-heirs in the kingdom of my father. The Holy Spirit will teach them to love me and they’ll love because I first loved them.”
He groaned as another sharp pain went through his body and then He smiled – a smile of triumphant love and overwhelming victory.
“IT IS DONE” he whispered and breathed His last.
YouarebeingLoved 