He could hear the crowd screaming “CRUCIFY HIM!” “CRUCIFY HIM!!”
He could hear the hatred in their voices. These were His chosen people. He loved them, and they were going to crucify Him. He was beaten, bleeding and weakened… His heart was broken,
But still He walked.
He could see the crowd as He emerged from the palace. He knew each of the faces so well — He had created them. He knew every smile, every laughter, and every shed tear, but now they were contorted with rage and anger… His heart broke…
But still He walked.
Was He scared? You and I would have been, so his humanness would have mandated that He was. He felt alone. His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed Him. He searched the crowd for a loving face and He saw very few. Then He turned his eyes up to THE ONLY ONE THAT MATTERS and He knew He would never be alone. He looked back at the crowd, at the people who were spitting at Him, throwing rocks at Him, mocking Him and He knew that because of Him, they would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.
As He looked out past the crowd, into the distance, into time, He saw my birth, my face and my life. He heard my cries and saw my tears. He knew I needed salvation. He knew He had to die so I might live. He knew my cross would be too much for me to bear, and because He wants me to have eternal life, He bore my sins upon His cross,
And for me, He Walked.
When He got to Calvary, to that place called Golgotha (meaning the Place of the Skulls), the sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through the crowd. The sounds of His cries echoed even louder. The cheers of the crowd, as His hands and feet were nailed to the cross, intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice inside His heart that whispered “I am with you my son,” and God’s heart broke.
He had let His son Walk.
Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering, but instead He asked God to forgive me, not to forgive Him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting Him.
As He hung on the cross, at 3:00 p.m., on Good Friday, hanging between heaven and earth, dying an ignominious and an unimaginable death, He looked around. He saw not only the faces in the crowd, but also the face of every person yet to be, and His heart filled with love. As His body was dying, His heart was alive. Alive with the limitless, unconditional love He feels for each of us.
And that is why He Walked.
Just before 9:00 p.m., He dismissed His Spirit, looked up to heaven and cried out in a loud voice: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” meaning “Father, it is finished… Into Your hands, I commit My Spirit.”
He lowered His head into the locks of His hair and breathed His last.
When I often call His name in my hour of despair and get no response, and wonder if He is in fact real, my faith kicks in…
and I remember His Walk.
When I think of those horrible relationships I’ve ever been in and recall the manipulative lies that were told about me, and how I was painfully and intentionally deceived, I remind myself that He held no bitterness or malice toward His accusers and because of the love He has for each and everyone of us, He Walked.
When I recall the callous, deceptive, and calculating individuals I have come across in my life, I remind myself that He also met many of them throughout His journey, and in spite of their self-serving nature, He loved them all, and for them, He Walked.
When I sometimes feel like giving up and just dying because my body is sick and racked with pain, I remember His mercy comforts me and that’s why He Walked.
When I look at my bank account, and see nothing in it, and wonder how I will make it through another day, I remember He has blessed me with EVERYTHING that I’ll ever NEED,
and that is why He Walked.
When life’s daily issues seem too much to bear and I feel I can’t go on any longer,
I remember His Walk.
When I think no one has problems bigger than mine, I remember His trial and His Walk.
When I often wonder if I could ever be forgiven for all my sins, I remember why He Walked.
When I need reminding of how to live like Christ, I think of His Walk.
And to show Him how grateful I am that He willingly and graciously died an unspeakable death in my place, I wake up each morning, turn my eyes up to Him,
And I walk.
I hope the above passage brings a measure of faith, hope and healing to anyone reading it who finds him or herself going through a difficult situation, whether you are that homeless person, that survivor of domestic violence, that person battling a grave illness, or whether you are that man, woman or child who has been devastated and scarred for life by man’s inhumanity to man… Life has a way of throwing curve balls at us every now and then, and while anyone can say, “hold on! have faith!”; I realize that it’s easier said than done.
I don’t have EMPIRICAL PROOF to prove that He lives other than what He has done in my life, but my faith tells me that He was God in the image of man, and therefore He suffered and experienced ALL THE PAIN that you and I experience on a daily basis as we go through this thing called LIFE. His MERCY and His GRACE have kept me. He understands and He IS ALWAYS PRESENT to comfort those who seek Him.
When things are difficult and you feel like giving up…. when your daily issues seem too much to bear and you feel like letting go… when depression weighs you down and you feel like ending it all… when it seems like your days are always nights… when things just don’t seem to make sense any more and you feel like throwing in the towel; giving up the ghost…
Remember to turn your eyes up to HIM and walk.
May His Grace, Peace, and Blessings be with you and yours… Always.
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