Journey to the Cross - Finished

As you plan your evening and weekend, prayerfully consider Jesus’ final twenty-four hours. During the night, He was moved from the garden to Annas to Caiphas to Pilate to Herod then back to Pilate, bound - mocked - severely beaten, and deprived of sleep or rest.  Driven by personal ambition and public outcry, Pilate finally condemns Jesus to death by Roman crucifixion, reserved for the most vile of criminals. The Romans didn't invent crucifixion but perfected it to be a slow, painful, and tortuous way to die.  Terribly weak and in great pain, Jesus began the journey from the Praetorium through the city streets to Golgotha, an established place of crucifixion.  Jesus fell beneath the weight of the horizontal beam of the cross, and Simon of Cyrene was ordered to carry it the rest of the way. Secured to the cross by spikes, Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh (gall), a mild analgesic, which He refused.  His open wounds and exposed to insects, birds, and the elements added to His struggle to breathe while soldiers and bystanders taunted Him.  From noon to three o’clock, darkness covered Jerusalem and in one final arduous gasp and cry, those standing nearby would surely have recognized Jesus’ moment of death. The Jewish Sabbath approaching, Joseph of Arimathea, “a good and righteous man,” asked Pilate for Jesus’ body; he wrapped The Savior in linen and laid Him in a new tomb cut from rock “where no one had ever lain.”  Women who had come with Jesus from Galilee witnessed His burial and prepared the customary burial spices and perfumes.  A heavy circular stone was rolled in place to cover entrance to the tomb.  There may have been an eerie silence at the garden tomb but I imagine quite a disturbance in the temple: the Passover lambs had been offered but the temple curtain was torn completely from top to bottom fully exposing the holiest of temple chambers, ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME giving man 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 on the third day. Likewise, He will [keep His promise to] come again and take us to the place He has prepared for us to reign victoriously 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!