[Tip: Read the previous post first.]
April 4, 2021, Resurrection Day
A Day of Remembering
Were You There
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when he rose up from the grave?
Were you there when he rose up from the grave?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when he rose up from the grave?
This old spiritual sends tears down my cheeks every time I hear it. My mind tries to envision the horror of it all. My heart and soul try to comprehend that kind of love-- on Jesus' part as well as God's.I attempt to enter Mary’s mind as she sees her son mocked
and flogged; the various responses of the Roman soldiers and the crowd; and the
fears of Pilate, the members of the Sanhedrin, and the temple priests.
If I’d joined the women at the tomb, would I have been
frightened or rejoicing when I saw the empty tomb?
Would I have fallen on my knees and cried, “Holy, holy
holy! Blessed is He, the Son of the Most High?”
Or would I have run to the village well to tell the other
women the truth that He truly was the Messiah? Or would I be able to send the
good news via Camel Express to my family and friends?
Or would I sob and ponder these things in my heart? Like the
three Mary’s, I think I would stay nearby.
I remain without comprehension.
Then I read this from the Seven Last Words1
and pause.
“In one very real sense in this one very real moment he
was hopeless because there could be no reprieve, no call from the governor, no
appeal or last-minute stay of execution. There was no hope to escape death
because Jesus had been born for this moment, born to die to redeem us from sin.
“Frederick Buechner wrote, “The miracle was to be that
there would be no miracle. He was to be spared nothing.”
...Frederick Buechner Trusting in the unfailing character of God, but will the
Father who seems to have forsaken him receive him now?
Yes, “Jesus comes to that final moment. With a loud cry, he shoves against all the despair and darkness of death and shouts, “Catch me
Abba” and with trust in his Father’s unfailing character, resting in the
Father’s sovereign purpose, Jesus jumps with abandon into the loving hands and
arms of his Heavenly Father. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
And the good news for us, Jesus didn’t jump alone. No, he
took us with him. For all of us who have placed our faith in Christ as our
Savior and Lord, the bible says we are in Christ. We are in him, and he is
taking us with us. Can you hear him? “Abba, get your hands ready to catch me.
Oh, and can you catch my friend as well. I told him today he would be with me
in paradise. He’s coming with me.” And the Father says, “Jump, I’ll catch you
both.”
My tomb of hope now makes sense. I smile and sing Charles Wesley’s refrain followed by Michael Card's last verse:
“Amazing love, how can it be that thou my God shouldst die
for me.”
"Love crucified arose.
The risen One in splender;
Jehovah's soul defender;
Has won the victory.
Love crucified arose;
And the grave became a place of hope,
For the heart that sin and sorrow broke
Is beating once again."
“Amazing love, how can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me.”
Selah, think about this…
Connie
[i] https://cagtulsa.com/wp-content/uploads/sermons/2014/04/Seven-Last-Words-Part-7-4-18-14.pdf]
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