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Journey to the Cross

Posted on 03.27.2013

By now, we are in the middle of Easter Week.  Spring has come and most of us are getting a break from school and work. As I am writing this on Palm Sunday, I began to think about what it could have been like for Jesus in those last few days before He sacrificed Himself on the cross.

Because my little mind is finite, what I think about Jesus’ journey is severely limited. Though it is difficult to imagine how Jesus felt leading up to His death, I am trying to: as I think about all of my life’s disappointments, it could have been something like that for Jesus. As I think about every time I have been hurt, I think of Him. As I think of every time I have been physically hurt or harmed or in pain—every day that I have experienced it since the day I was born, perhaps it touches on His pain a tiny bit. When I think of how many days I have cried from emotional pain or devastation, I can think about Jesus. When I think of each time I have been talked about negatively, plus the times I was criticized or berated or yelled at by someone from the first day of my existence, I think about Jesus.

What I am attempting to do is to add up every single hurt or pain—physical, mental or emotional—I have experienced from the day I was born. Now even if I put that all together in a bowl and experience it all at the same time, it would not touch what Jesus went through! Now, I can add up every single human being that ever walked the earth with every single pain they have experienced in their entire lives and put them all together! Now take all of that and pour it on Jesus at the same time.  Is that the level of beyond excruciating pain Jesus experienced? It sounds beyond belief. It is miraculous.

The moment when all of the sins of the world would be cast upon Jesus on the cross was the worst time of all. At that time, not only did Jesus experience the worst pain and suffering, but at that moment, God had to turn His back on Him! That made the pain even worse. Losing the approval of His Father is a horrible thing that is probably worse than death! How do we feel when we are in pain and no one is there for us?

Jesus knew it was coming. He asked His Father to take the cross away from Him, but his Father couldn’t. The only way there would be hope for you and for me is for Jesus to die.

Jesus’s journey to the cross on Good Friday kept getting closer and closer. Jesus didn’t run. He didn’t hide. He just kept walking toward the cross, dreading that fateful day. His journey was painful and His arrival was deadly.

I thank God for giving His Son. As we continue on our journey, let’s keep Jesus in mind, so that we can keep walking.

References: Luke 22:39-48 and Luke 23:32-56