So it's Easter... (Part 2)

Jesus’ journey to the cross is one that breaks me. It used to not break me. I grew up in church - like popped out the womb, in church the next day. Eventually if you hear something enough times, it falls on deaf ears. But the last several years, the Lord has begun to move on my heart in a new way. What was once hard to His journey now hears it with fresh ears. Jesus, for the last three years of His life, essentially had been on the Most Wanted list of the Pharisees and religious leaders of Jerusalem. They plotted and schemed, and generally couldn’t catch or kill Him without being openly at fault. See, the coming Messiah was supposed to be a political savior, not a prophetic one. Jesus didn’t fit the mold of what they wanted him to be (sound familiar?), so they rejected Him. When He entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, to a crowd crying and worshipping Him, they had enough. While Jesus sat at Passover supper with the Twelve, the Pharisees’ scheme began to unfold. Judas, one of the Twelve, had already worked out a deal to betray Him. This man walked with Jesus. He knew Him intimately. In fact, even knowing that Judas would betray Him, Jesus withheld no good thing from him - no blessing, no meal, no part of His love was withheld from Judas. At the end of the meal, Jesus looked at Judas and told him to go - when he left, Jesus took a few of the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. The Bible says He grieved before His father so hard that sweat fell like drops of blood. This same Jesus, who had healed so many, who had celebrated His friends, raised Lazarus from the dead, who fed the 5,000, cast out demons, who started by simply changing water to wine, this Jesus was broken before his journey to the cross. His love is so deep and so wide and so true that He knew every sin we would commit against Him. He knew that before the night was over His very best friends, who He had invested in and loved without reserve, would reject Him and say they never knew Him. He knew that His eternal Father, with whom He shares the Trinity, would turn His back on Him as He hung on the cross. Broken. Bloody. Body destroyed. I can’t downplay how gruesome this death was. The Romans used it as the ultimate form of torture for the worst of criminals. Yet Jesus allowed His name to be ruined, His back to be shredded, His beard to be pulled out because these moments were necessary to separate us from eternal damnation. I have seen people shrink back from this in horror and ask how could I celebrate these moments? How could I celebrate murder? This isn’t murder - it’s sacrifice. Customarily, the Romans would break the femur in the leg to cause the body to sag and the lungs be drowned in fluid. Jesus gave his life up - He was not killed. No bone was broken. Not by anyone’s hand but His was his life surrendered. Our collective redemption was bought and paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. From a quiet carpenter, born of a virgin, to a winemaker, to a healer, miracle worker… to Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the world. I hope that you take time to read this whole story (we haven’t even gotten to the best part…) - it is found across the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. There is more detail than I could adequately do justice to in these small moments. I pray that this Easter, amidst the fear and uncertainty that we are facing, that you hear the story of Christ with fresh ears. I pray that you know Him in a new way. His love is so deep and wide and true that He stepped out of the framework of Heaven to redeem your story. No matter where you are at this moment, what you did last night or this morning, He wants you. You could never be too damaged to receive His love. On behalf of all the Christians who have hurt and wounded you, please hear my apology. I love you. Nothing could bring me or Jesus more joy than to know that His story and His sacrifice pulled you from a place of hopelessness to joy. He’s big enough to do just that. You are loved. You are cherished. You are wanted. By His grace, you are REDEEMED. Reflection Questions: What is your current view on Jesus? What is your current view of yourself? What does forgiveness look like for you? Between Jesus and you? Between others and you? Which disciple would you have been?