A LOVERS PROMISE

SEVEN STATEMENTS FROM THE CROSS

“TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE” (LUKE 23:43)

A LOVERS PROMISE

It all happened in a little farm village in France near the end of WWII.  The German army had killed Maria’s father.  They had taken over their little farm and were using their home as a headquarters for their raiding operations into the other little villages.  Maria, her mother and sisters were forced to cook for the German officers and clean up their mess and see to their every need.  They were hopeless against these brutal men.  They were hopeless that is until the U.S. Army came along.

The liberation of France occurred as the U.S. troops moved in and routed the Germans.  As they begin to move into the area the German’s begin to move out very quickly.  The U.S. soldiers were Maria’s heroes.

One man in particular, named George Lumpkin from Pennsylvania really caught Maria’s eye.  He was a big, rough, farm boy but had a kind heart and while his troop stayed at Maria’s farm to rest up, George and Maria developed a very strong liking for each other.  They talked, and laughed and in a few short weeks they fell in love. 

But George had to move on.  The war was not over.  There were more towns to liberate, more battles to fight.  They might never see each other again.  But before he left George put his arms around Maria and made her a “lover’s promise”. 

“If you will have me” the big farm boy said, “I will come back here after the war.  Somehow I’ll find you and I’ll make you my wife.  I will find a way to take you back with me to Pennsylvania and I’ll buy us a little farm.  I’ll make you happy Maria.  I’ll be a good husband to you”

Maria had no idea where Pennsylvania was.  She didn’t even know where the United States was. But she knew she loved George and she knew that George loved her so she accepted his offer.  “I’ll wait for you”, she said and she waved good-bye as he marched away. 

***********

It was on a little hillside just north of the city of Jerusalem.  There along the roadside were three crosses.  This was a common sight for that day and time.  Those who passed by that way were used to seeing criminals executed in this manner.  This was the Roman’s way of punishing those judged to be guilty of crimes against the nation. 

Some days there were many crosses here.  Today there were only three.  The cross on the left held a man being executed as a thief as did the one on the right.  On the center cross however hung a man named Jesus whom the people called the Messiah.  All three were hurting.  All three were dying. 

We are not told that the man on the right and left were mocked.  Oh, I’m sure there were some snickers and “They should have known better” statements.  But after all, they were just common criminals. 

But the man on the middle cross not only endured the pain of crucifixion but was also taking the sarcastic, disrespectful jeers of the crowd.  The crowds ridiculed Him.  The soldiers taunted Him.  Even one of the men dying with Him threw verbal abuse at Him. 

But the man on the other side of Jesus saw something different about Him.  He was not like any other man he had ever met.  There was something believable about Him.  So with what little strength he had left, he turned his head toward Jesus and said, “Sir, remember me when you come into your kingdom”.

Not the most forceful statement of belief ever heard. 

Not a comment that would have people jumping benches and shouting glory.

But it was a simple statement of belief.

“I believe you are Lord and that you will reign over your kingdom. I accept you as my king”.

Jesus too was weak.  He too had only a few breaths left and so very little strength left to make them.  Yet He pulled Himself up, straining against the iron spikes in His wrist, and pushing against the iron spike in His feet  and with more love than you and I can imagine He made this lovers promise, “Today, you will be with me in paradise”.  

The thief had no idea where paradise might be but he willingly believed what this man said and totally accepted His promise. 

********

There was another young man who had made a lot of really bad choices.  His choices and conduct had cost him a lot.  He had left his wife, his children, his job, his church and his God. 

His heart was broken, his life was ruined and his soul was lost.

He stood alone one morning along the edge of the Coosa River at a place called Higgins Ferry.  He was there to clear brush from the road side but his mind was not on his work.  He looked out across the river and it seemed so wide here.  The other side seemed so very far away.  But righteousness, love and forgiveness seemed even further away.  He had broken everything he loved and he could not fix it. 

Then softly, quietly, gently, down that dirt road came a man named Jesus.  It was the same man who hung on that cross so many years before.  “I can’t fix it” the young man said.  “It’s my fault and I can’t fix it”.

And again Jesus made a lovers promise.  “You don’t have to fix it” Jesus said, “I already fixed it over 2000 years ago on a cross.  Follow me; I’ll take care of it all”. 

The young man didn’t understand the love and forgiveness but he willingly believed and accepted it. 

******

I love stories with a happy ending, don’t you?

The war ended.  George Lumpkin came back to France.  He searched for weeks until he found out where Maria was living.  He walked up to her as she was working in her garden.He took her in his arms and in a few short weeks they were married.  He booked passage for them on a boat back to the U.S.  He took her to a little farm in Pennsylvania and carried her across the threshold of their little farm house.  George fulfilled his "lovers promise".  They lived many years together there and lived to see their children and grand-children grow into fine people.  I guess you could say they lived “happily ever after”. 

*****

The thief on the cross died.  He died an awful, painful, torturing death.  No one knows where they buried him.  No one knows if anyone came to morn his loss. 

But Jesus kept His lovers promise, and as the thief exhaled his last breath here on earth, he inhaled the breath of a new and glorious place.  As his tough old heart stopped beating here, his new clean forgiven heart started beating in a place called Paradise. 

Now the man who just a short time ago had hung on the cross beside him, stood next to him in a wonderful place.  And they lived happily ever after.

******

And what about the young man?  Well, he’s not young anymore.  He’s still around.  He’s still following and still allowing God to fix what needs fixin’.  He’s still believing the promise that Jesus gave to him and to His disciples in John 14.

“Let not your heart be troubled.  You believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not true I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place,  I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there you will be also”. 

I don’t know where that place is located.  I’ve never been there before.  But you can bet your John Deere against a broken down plow mule, one day I’ll be there because Lovers keep their promises. 

I don’t know what God has in store for your life.

·         You may be left alone, waiting, for a long time like Maria. 

·         You may have to die a hard death like the thief on the cross.

·          You may have to hang around a long time like I have

But I know one thing, you can hang your hat on the promises that Jesus made.   He’s gone to fix up the farm and He’ll be back.  And if you believe His promises and are faithful to them, one day you will live with Him in a place called Paradise. 

FULFILLING YOUR PURPOSE

  SEVEN STATEMENTS FROM THE CROSS

“FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO”. (Luke 23:34)

FULFILLING YOUR PURPOSE
 

History has recorded the Last words of many great men.

• Nathan Hale (a 21 year old school teacher from Conn. Captured while spying on the British Government. Sentenced to hang the next day without trial.  “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country”.)
• Robert E. Lee (had a stroke and died of pneumonia one month later “Tell Hill to move up, strike the tents”
•  This is the last of earth! I am content.  John Quincy Adams, US President
• I have tried so hard to do right. Grover Cleveland, US President
• It is very beautiful over there. Thomas Alva Edison, inventor
• A dying man can do nothing easy. Benjamin Franklin, statesman,  
• Oh, do not cry - be good children and we will all meet in heaven.  Andrew Jackson, US President
• Let us cross over the river and sit in the shade of the trees. Killed in error by his own troops at the battle of Chancellorsville during the US Civil War. General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
• Lord help my poor soul.  Edgar Allan Poe, writer
• I die hard but am not afraid to go. George Washington, US President
•  “I am ready.Woodrow Wilson, US President

I believe that a man’s last words mean a lot to him and to those who are privileged to hear them.

A man’s last words are important because they cost him a lot.  They cost him precious, limited breath.  (You hear it on TV or in movies a lot, (“Don’t talk. Save your breath.”)

We have discussed the suffering that Jesus went through on the cross.  He hung like a piece of meat from a nail on the cross beam.  We have mentioned the condition in which Jesus was placed and what pain He went through just to be able to exhale.  We also commented on the fact that in order to speak from the cross that one would have to pull himself up against the spikes in his hands and push up against the spikes in his feet.  This would produce extreme pain.  But while there on the cross those 6 hours Jesus still had things that He wanted to say.  Even though it would cause Him pain and even though it took away strength of which He had very little left, He chose to speak those seven sentences. 

As I've mentioned, the thing that hurt me so and caused me to dig further into this crucifixion experience was the fact that I did not know what He said.  It was important enough for Jesus to inflict that pain upon Himself just to say those words but it was not important enough for me to even know what He said. 

Some of you may know what Jesus said that day.  Some of you may be able to quote His sentences.  But for those of you who are like me and do not know or do not remember what He said, I feel it is very important for us to, at the very least, give close examination of His words.  

In this lesson we will study what most believe are the first words that Jesus spoke from the cross. I’m not sure that we can be 100% positive in which order these words were spoken.  Your study may have them listed in another order.  But as I have studied these sentences this is the order in which I have found them listed. 

FULFILLING YOUR PURPOSE:   The first statement that Jesus made is listed in Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”.   

Suppose we went to where you work.  Suppose we took 20 people at your job, or any job for that matter, and asked them “What is the purpose of your job”?  What kind of answers would we get?

We might go to the little girl who works the drive through at McDonald’s and she would probably say, “It’s my job to take the orders and collect the money”.

We might go to the carpenter who is working on a job site and he might answer, “It’s my job to put the roof on this house”.

We could even go to the politician and he might answer, “It’s my job to attend functions, meetings, and try to satisfy the complaints of the people”.   

Would any of them get it right?  Would you?   What is the purpose of your job?

Doesn’t it make sense to you that if you were going to hire someone to do a job that you would give them good, clear, understandable instructions on the purpose of that job?

We have talked in other lessons about how as a soldier in the military you needed to understand “command’s intent”.  It would be ideal for each fighting man to know the intent of the commander.

“Our intent today is to take this hill” or “Our intent today is to secure this roadway” or perhaps simply “Our intent today is to search out and destroy the enemy” would be simple explanations of exactly WHAT the commands intents were. 

Soldiers and employees are most often never let in on this.  They are just told to “jump” and not told when to come down. As employees we are faced with the Nike syndrome of “Just do it”; and I guess we have just gotten used to it because we “just do it”.

What about in our Christian life though.  Wouldn’t it be great that when you first gave your heart to Jesus Christ that the pastor would shake your hand hug your neck and say “Here you go; this is what God wants you to do.  This is your purpose for being a Christian”. 

But sadly many of us, I dare say, most of us go through our entire life not exactly knowing the purpose of our Christian experience.  Stay with me here, I hope before the lesson is over to show you your purpose.

Just a few years ago a pastor named Rick Warren made lots of money by writing a book entitled, The Purpose Driven Life, some of you might have read it.  He followed it up with, The Purpose Driven Church and other books.  People need to know, want to know, their purpose.

I believe, no, I know that Jesus knew His purpose. 

•  From the time He heard the first crunch of the apple in the Garden of Eden, He could also hear the ringing of the hammer on Golgotha. 
• From the moment He felt the soft, tender touch of Mary his Mother on His face, He could feel the flagellum's ripping the flesh off of His back.
• Even as a 12 year old boy, He explained to Mary and Joseph, “Do you not understand?  I must be about my Father’s business”

God’s plan and Jesus’ purpose was the redemption of mankind.  He came to save the souls of men from eternal damnation or “He came to save YOU”!  With Jesus, it was personal. 

How do we know that He knew?  Look at His teaching.

John 10:10:  “I have come that they might have life and might have it more abundantly”

John 5:24:  “Verily, verily, I say unto you , He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Luke 19:10:  “For the Son of Man is come to seek and save that which was lost”

Jesus’ every move, every act, every word was to glorify God the Father and to redeem the people He so loved.

We may not understand why we are here.  We may not be able to comprehend our purpose here on this earth but we could spend the rest of the night going through scripture which clearly show that Jesus knew why He was here. His purpose was to glorify the Father and love His people by providing redemption from their sin.

And His statement on Calvary’s cross confirmed it.  “FATHER, FORGIVE THEM..”  He was there, nailed to that old wooden cross beam for one reason and one reason only….TO FORGIVE ME!

II.HOW?  Ok, so He understood His purpose.  He got it.  He could grasp “Command’s Intent”.  But How?  How could He love so much?  How could He be so forgiving?

I like to think that it is possible for me to be forgiving.  I like to think that if someone wronged me, and came to me and said “I’m sorry” that I could find it in my heart to forgive that person.  But there are a lot of “if’s” there. 

If they came to me

If they said I’m sorry

If they were repentant

If they really sounded like they meant it

Then, maybe, perhaps, if I were in a good mood and felt “forgiving” and If I were having a good day, I would extend forgiveness to that person.  But that’s not the way it was in the case of Jesus.

·         Jesus forgave when no one was asking for forgiveness.

·         Jesus forgave when no one said “I’m sorry”. 

·         Jesus forgave when no one was repentant.

·          Jesus forgave while they were still hurting Him. 

  

HOW is that possible? I think if we look at the rest of His statement we will see HOW He could say that and mean it.

“FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO”:  Jesus was looking at these men not as the aggressors, or the “bad guys”; instead He looked at them as the victims.  They were being “dooped”.  They were being misled by Satan.  “Father they don’t know what they are doing”.  With these words He placed His tormentors in the position of victims. He was loving them and thinking of them.

What love!  What understanding!  What compassion!  The flesh has been ripped off of His back.  Spikes have been driven into His wrist and feet.  He has tasted the spit from men who despised Him and yet He wasn’t trying to get even.  He wasn’t trying to get back.   

What would happen if you and I did that?  What would that look like? 

When a conflict comes up at the office or wherever you work, when you and a friend have a disagreement, when you have been wronged by someone undeservedly or when someone has treated you badly and you can see THEM as the victim you will treat them differently.  The conflict will be naturalized.  The selfish attitude will go away because you will not be focused on “what happened to me” but “what has happened to them”.  “Lord, they are trying to hurt me.  Lord, they are trying to do me wrong, but FORGIVE THEM; they don’t know what they are doing”. 

If we can do that then we are establishing our position as a Christ-like person.  We establish ourselves as followers of Christ.  And we also establish our “enemies” as “victims”.  It’s a lot easier to love them when we see them that way, isn’t it?  Jesus focus was on others rather than himself.  That is so unlike me, but so much like Jesus.

That statement, said in honesty, neutralizes the hate.  Wouldn’t it be great to not feel bad at people even when they do you wrong?  Here is the answer.  See them as the victim.  Focus on them and not on yourself. 

III. WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?  Jesus knew His purpose but He was God.  He knew everything.  How can I know my purpose in life?

What school should I attend?  What job should I take?  What position should I work in at the church?  What should I spend my next 5 or 10 years doing? 

We are told to BE LIKE CHRIST.  That is exactly what the name Christian implies.  I am to be Christ-like.  Oh, I don’t look like Him.  I don’t sound like Him.  I can’t teach like Him.  But my purpose should be like His purpose. 

That might involve going to collage, taking another job, working harder at the job I have, having folks over for supper.  It might involve going bowling. It might involve baking cookies or singing or teaching or simply being nice to people but ultimately our purpose is just exactly like the purpose of Jesus;  to GLORIFY GOD BY LOVING THE PEOPLE HE LOVED.

Will you commit this verse to memory?  Will you work on it this week?  “Father, forgive them for they know 

not what they do” (Luke 23:34) But more than that, will you commit to living out the purpose of that profound statement that Jesus made from the cross that day.  Will you commit your life to glorifying God and loving people?

A PLACE CALLED GOLGOTHA

FIVE PLACES YOU’VE JUST GOT TO SEE

A PLACE CALLED GOLGOTHA

I PETER 2:21-24

As Christians we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  We believe that as a God/Man He was born to a virgin.  We believe that He was God Himself and that He was also 100% man.  He thought the thoughts that we think.  He did the things that we do.  He liked the things that we like.  He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.  And He hurt just like we hurt. 

We believe that He gave His life on a cross to die for our sins.  In so doing, the shedding of His blood became the sacrifice for our sins.  We also believe that if we recognize Jesus as our Savior and accept Him as our Lord, He will apply that blood to our lives and forgive our sins.

Over the last few weeks we have studied the events of the last days of Jesus’ physical life here on earth.  Last week we followed Him to a garden on the Mount of Olives.  We watched as He clawed the ground.  We were present at “The greatest battle ever fought”. 

We understand now that after His stressful, crushing night in the “oil press” of Gethsemane that He was arrested and tried illegally.  He was placed before the scrutiny of five different court-like proceedings.  We are told that He was forced to walk more than 2 and ½ miles from place to place that night, traveling from the garden to Annas’ house, to Caiaphas’ palace, to Pilate’s hall, to Herod’s palace and then back to Pilate’s hall again. 

He was preparing to make a trip to another place that you and I just have to see.  He was being readied for a trip to a place called Golgotha.

**************

Being involved for many years in emergency medicine it interested me to look at the medical aspects of Jesus’ experience that night and the torture and suffering He experience on Golgotha.  I researched an article from The Journal of the American Medical Association done by the Mayo clinic.  It is entitled “On the physical death of Jesus Christ”.  Much of the information included here comes directly from that document. 

This information gives us a clear understanding of the extent of the pain and suffering that Jesus WILLINGLY submitted to for our sins.  We have talked about several times that we should “leave it all on the field”.  This was the ultimate sacrifice.  When Jesus left the field there was nothing else that He could have possible done for us. 

1.  Sweating blood:  (Luke 27:44) Last week we learned how that Jesus underwent so much mental and spiritual pressure in the garden that he actually sweated blood.  Is that physically possible? 

There is a medical condition known as HEMATIDROSIS which is brought on by intense emotional and mental stress in which the physical body actually does sweat blood.  This is how it happens. 

 

Surrounding each sweat gland there is a “net” of tiny blood vessels.  During stress the vessels will constrict and push the blood away from the glands.  Then as the stress begins to pass the vessels will dilate and the blood will ooze into the glands.  They exit the body mixed with the sweat and appear as drops of blood.    

There are those who state that this condition is not possible, however Leonardo de Vinci writes about observing this condition in a soldier about to go into a major battle. 

The loss of great amounts of sweat plus the loss of blood will result in dehydration.  Let me give you some of the signs and symptoms of the condition called dehydration. 

·         Head aches

·         Muscle cramps especially in the legs

·         A drop in blood pressure

·         Dizziness, fainting

·         Rapid heart rate

Severe cases of dehydration alone are known to cause death. 

So it is easy to understand that as Jesus was led out of the garden of Gethsemane that night He was already in a weakened condition.

2. (Luke 22:63; Mark 14:65; Matt 27:29) The Crown of Thorns: We are told in the gospel accounts of that night that was blindfolded and slapped with the palm of the hands.  That He was hit with a reed and that He had a crown of thorns placed on His head. 

The head and face are the most vascular parts of the body.  Even a small cut to the scalp or face will produce copious amounts of bleeding. This would again contribute to the condition of dehydration and hypovolemic shock. 

The signs and symptoms of hypovolemic shock are much the same as dehydration. 

·         Decrease in blood pressure

·         Increased heart rate

·         Cold, clammy skin

·         Dizziness and disorientation.  .

3.  Flogging/ scourging:  (Mark 15:15)

We discussed on Sunday night a little about the process of flogging or scourging.  It was done with an instrument called a “Flagrum or flagellum”.  This whip-like instrument had a wooden handle with 3-4 braided leather straps emerging from it.  Braided into the straps were pieces of broken bones and at the ends of the straps were pieces of round metal “balls”. 

The victim was tied to a post and stripped of his cloths.  A soldier stood on either side and alternately beat the victim with the whip. 

The bone pieces would naturally cut into the skin causing capillary and venous bleeding. The metal balls would cause deep contusions or bruising, which is nothing more than bleeding deep within the muscle tissue.  As the beating continued the bone chips and leather would tear open the muscle and cause intense spasms in the legs, back and shoulders of the victim.    
 

This process would go on as long as the ruler allowed and usually it was as long as the soldiers wanted to swing.  They were skilled in the art and would stop just prior to the death of the victim. Often the flesh would literally be hanging from the victims back, shoulders and legs when the beating was over.   

Already being in shock from the dehydration and blood loss, weak from lack of sleep, food and water, Jesus now was taken to the point of death by this unmerciful beating. 

4.  The trip to the cross:  We saw pictures last Sunday night of the Via Dolorosa, “the way of sorrows” which is the route which is believed to have been taken on the way to the cross.  The cross beam on which Jesus would be hung was made of wood and usually weighed about 125.5 pounds.  A normal man in relatively good condition would have been able to carry that on his shoulders; however in Jesus’ physical condition He could not carry the crossbeam.  So He fell beneath the load. 

It was at this point that the Romans pulled a man from the crowd named Simon and he was forced to carry the crossbeam up to Calvary for Jesus.

5.  Nailed to the cross: After reaching Calvary Jesus was thrown down onto the ground again breaking loose the lacerations on his back.  A 5-7” metal spike was then placed at each wrist.  This was driven through the wrist between the radius and ulna bones. (Not through the palm as we have always assumed) In placing the spike here it would have severed the medial nerve causing a white hot, burning pain to shoot through both arms.  The spikes would not tear out of the wrist because they are held in by the metacarpal bones in the hand. 

6.  Nailed by the feet:  Another spike was then driven through the feet between the 2nd and 3^rd metatarsal bones.  Again this would have hit a nerve and caused that burning pain to shoot through the legs each time the nerve was pressed upon.

7.  Breathing:  The process of breathing is not exactly like we think.  Our intercostals muscle, along with the muscle in our shoulders and our diaphragm constrict to expand our chest thus allowing for air to flow into our lungs.  That inhalation process is aided by the raising of the arms.  If you will notice when you run or are short of breath you have a tendency to raise your arms over your head or at least take the pressure off of your chest by putting your hands on your hips so you can breath better.

As Jesus hung on that crossbeam His chest was forced into an inhalation position.  He could breathe in.  But in order to breathe out or exhale He would have to pull up on the nails and push up with His feet.  The point of the cross was to inflict pain, as much as possible, so with each breath, Jesus had to inflict pain upon Himself. 

A point that I realized while studying this really shook me.  We understand from the Gospel accounts that Jesus spoke 7 times from the cross.  Seven times He had to pull up against the spikes in His wrist.  Seven times He had to push against the spike in His feet in order to exhale and speak.  But it was important for Him to speak those 7 times.  The thing that shocked me is that I did not even know what He said at those times.  Do you?

Jesus put Himself through excruciating pain in order to utter seven statements and I don’t care enough to study and even know what He said!

I intend to study those words.  I intend to commit them to memory.  I intend to know what was so important that Jesus chose to inflict that pain upon Himself so that I could hear what He had to say. I hope you will study that too. (As a matter of fact, I think before we go on to the final place that we just have to see, that we have time to study the words of Jesus from the cross and will probably do that next week.)

Because He did not exhale as He normally would, fluid built up within His lungs.  Today we call that pulmonary edema.  People who have congestive heart failure will experience this malady.  When this occurs it prevents the air in your lungs from getting to the blood stream.  One actually drowns in their own fluid.  Now Jesus is not only suffering from dehydration, hypovolumic shock, hemorregic shock but also respiratory shock.  This was happening to Jesus and increasing with every minute He hung there. 

Every person in shock needs oxygen.  That is one of the first treatments given by an EMT in the field.  Yet for Jesus that oxygen is being denied because of the design of the cross.  It was planned so that the man would die painfully and slowly.

Fluid loss, blood loss, exhaustion, dehydration, suffocation and heart failure, any one condition could kill a man.  Jesus was suffering from all of them.

8.  The spear in His side: Often men would be allowed to hang on a cross for days in torment but in the case of Jesus the following day was the Sabbath and it was not proper to allow a man to hang on a cross on the Sabbath.  The custom of the Romans was simple; they would simply take a sledge hammer and break the large bone (tibia) in each leg.  This would prevent the man from pushing up and exhaling and he would die.  The two men hanging next to Jesus were treated to this torture. But we are told in Jesus case that instead of breaking His legs (this was prophesied) they stabbed Him in the side with a spear.  Blood and water poured from the wound.

A reasonable assumption is that the spear punctured the lung and either the heart or a major vessel.  Naturally blood would flow out of the wound and the fluid (water) would be from the pulmonary edema in the lungs. 

I’ve worked train wrecks, plane crashes, helicopter crashes, 18 wheeler wrecks, auto wrecks of all kinds, shootings, stabbings, beatings, just about any way a man could die, I’ve see it.  But I have never, in over 40 years of emergency work, ever seen a man suffer in death the way Jesus suffered. 

  

And to think, He went there for me!  He suffered for me!  It was more than just death.  He didn’t get shot or go quickly, it was prolonged, intentional, pre-meditated, suffering.  After seeing what we have seen on Calvary, Is it any wonder that He struggled so in the garden about going to the cross?

**********

How can we walk away from this place and not feel ashamed?  How can we turn our backs on Calvary walk back down that hill, go home tonight to our warm, safe, comfortable houses and live like we have lived before?   How can we see what we have seen and not fall on our faces and cry FORGIVE ME?  Oh, not just forgive me of my sin but forgive me for not loving PEOPLE like you do.  Forgive me for not giving of myself as you did.  Forgive me for daring to call myself “Christ-like” and a Christian and not living at all like you did. Forgive me for being so selfish and thinking of me after seeing the sacrifice you gave.

I don’t know about you, but for me this year Easter will be different.  I have always loved Thanksgiving and Christmas and other holidays but have never had much feeling for Easter.  I will this year.  I see what it cost Him.  I don’t understand why He did it, I certainly didn’t deserve.  I could never deserve it. But I understand just a part of what He did for me. How can I go a day without telling someone about how much He loves them?  How can I sit through the Easter season and not be passionate about what happened in that horrible place that Friday so long ago?

Don’t let this slip by you.  Don’t just sit here and listen to the description of what this kind, tender, loving, compassionate man went through for you and say “amen” and go back home the way you came.  The very reason He chose to go through this was so that you will be different!  The planned purpose of the cross was to deliver you from the guilt of sin and the chains of sin.  Not accepting the gift, not devoting yourself to live the life He planned for you and purchased for you puts your spit on His face and your hand on the hammer. 

Go ahead, miss the message about the future from the Mount of Olives, miss the purpose of the Lord’s Supper, ignore the mental and spiritual suffering that Jesus endured in that great battle in Gethsemane BUT WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T EVER FORGET WHAT YOU’VE SEEN ON CALVARY. DON’T MISS THE MESSAGE FROM GOLGOTHA! 

   

***********

We’ve got one more place to see before our trip is completed.  We will walk back outside the walls of Jerusalem, past the Mount of Olives, past the Garden of Gethsemane to a little hill near Bethany.  You won’t want to miss what we will see there.