When I really ponder what Jesus did for me, and I don’t look at His sacrifice as just another story, I am changed. Are you? I get goose bumps and chills run down my side. My throat is one big lump. Tears well up and I am thankful.
This week I have been looking through different scripture passages, trying to really study out the sacrifice that was made upon that cross, for me. I don’t want to ever look at the cross as familiar. Too many things in life become familiar.
My Savior should never be named among such!
So won’t you take a short journey through the scriptures with me? May it get you into a place where you can truly reflect, ponder, and internalize the sacrifice that was made for you.
Mocking, they cry,
Hail, King of the Jews.
Their smirks speak of their hardened hearts,
yet you are not enranged;
it only fills your heart will compassion.
You know the truth,
yet do not speak out.
Stripped of your clothes they scourge you;
whipping you over and over.
The jagged pieces grab onto your tender flesh.
The pain is so great, it makes you faint.
Your breath is knocked out of you.
Your flesh is opened up,
like a pile of ground meat.
Your bones are open and gaping.
As the cool of the air brushes against your body,
your muscles jolt, throbbing with intense pain;
your inward parts sting and cringe!
Yet the ache in your heart is that much greater.
Purple, symbolizing royalty
is thrown upon your vulnerable flesh.
Jesting and laughter rolls about like thunder;
mimicking You, My Savior!
They plaster a crown of thick thorns
down upon your skull.
Oh the splitting headache you must have!
As fast as the reed is thrown into your right hand,
they take it back to smack across your head.
Spit is chucked about and splattered against your face.
The robe, now stuck like a bandage to your open back,
is ripped off with great force.
The blood runs forth and
your body trembles from the intensity!
You are led away to the place of the skull, Golgotha.
They offer you a drink to dull your pain, and you deny it.
You felt every bit of the sacrifice, for me.
Laying on the cross, you were nailed to it.
The sound of the hammer against the nails
seems to echo for miles. They cry out,
wounded for your transgressions,
bruised for your iniquities.
With these stripes, you are healed.
The cross was placed upright,
and thrust into the dirt.
It dislodges all your joints.
The weight of your weary body,
hangs limp, ripping your flesh.
The sign above your head reads,
Jesus, King of the Jews.
The very sight of you is astonishing!
You are marred and battered more than any.
Despised and rejected,
you are acquainted
with my own sorrow and grief.
As the very sun grows black,
darkness falls upon the earth for three hours.
Upon the ninth hour, you cry,
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani:
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Yet it pleases the Father, to bruise You;
You are THE LAMB, the ultimate
and final sacrifice for all mankind; for me.
Humbly, you ask your Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do.
You give up your final breath,
and ripping of fabric echoes throughout.
Oh the beauty!
That hefty veil which covered God’s holy presence,
is ripped in two, from top to bottom!
An off limit place to commoners, such as myself,
is open and naked for all to see!
Jesus, your priceless sacrifice
allows me to approach God!
You made a way, allowing me, with boldness,
to enter the presence of my God,
at any given moment! What a gift!
Some great passages to read/study:
May His
precious sacrifice,
always stay fresh
in our heart and mind!
Thanks for visiting!