Rejoice in The Risen One!

Dare we drink morning coffee or eat toast without pause to the final hours before sin’s debt is paid in full …

 

During the night Jesus has been moved from the garden to Annas to Caiphas to Pilate to Herod then back to Pilate, bound and severely beaten, and deprived of sleep and rest.  Driven by political ambition and public outcry, Pilate finally condemns Jesus to death by crucifixion, reserved for the vilest of criminals. The Romans did not invent crucifixion but perfected it to a slow, painful, and tortuous means to die.  Weakened from severe flogging, Jesus begins the journey from the Praetorium (Pilate’s palace) to Golgotha, an established place of crucifixion outside the city walls.  Jesus falls beneath the weight of the horizontal cross-beam and Simon of Cyrene is ordered to carry it the rest of the way. Secured to the cross by Roman spikes driven through His hands and feet, Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh (gall), a mild analgesic, which He refuses.  His open wounds and decaying flesh is exposed to swarming insects and birds, and His arms are so extended He is unable to sustain His own weight, Jesus struggles for each breath while soldiers and bystanders taunt Him.  From noon to three o’clock, darkness covers Jerusalem and in one final arduous gasp and cry, those standing nearby recognize death’s moment. The Jewish Sabbath is approaching so Joseph of Arimathea, “a good and righteous man,” asks Pilate for Jesus’ body; Joseph wraps The Savior in linen and lays Him in a tomb cut from rock “where no one had ever lain.”  A heavy circular stone as well as Roman guards are positioned at the entrance to secure the tomb..  There may have been an eerie silence at the tomb but imagine the disturbance in the temple where Passover offerings are being made and suddenly and without explanation the temple curtain is torn completely in two [from top to bottom] fully exposing the holiest of temple chambers, ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME giving Jew and Gentile access to Almighty God through a newly declared and perfect High Priest – Jesus Christ!  We are familiar with the rest of the blessed events – The Father did not forsake His Son and the tomb could not contain The Messiah.  As promised, He rose victorious over death in three days. Likewise, He will [keep His promise to] come again and take us to reign with Him eternally.  Well, we may be living in a world that resembles “Good Friday,” but those who profess Christ are gloriously declared Easter People!  We can and do rejoice in the finished work of Jesus Christ – the Risen Lord! 

Hallelujah! Praise the Lamb!