His Final Hours: Via Dolorosa

^{Isaiah 53:1-12}

¹ Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes ^[c] his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

¹¹ After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied ; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

"VIA DOLOROSA"

Some visitors carry wooden crosses down the narrow winding streets. Others flog themselves with leather whips. Some content themselves with making the journey upon their knees. All of them are trying in some small way to enter into the suffering of Jesus as He traveled the Via Dolorosa. The Way of Sorrows, the traditional pathway Jesus followed from Pilate’s Hall to Calvary. Commemorated by 14 stations or stops this trail leads through the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem.

As we walked its narrow corridors we found ourselves walking through the meat market, where even today the blood of sheep and goats run in the cracks. The stench was horrible. Yet greater was Jesus’ horror as he followed his cross to the place of his execution. The crowds filling the streets with taunts. The push of the soldier’s spear in his already torn back. The heat and the exhaustion taking its toll as the weight of our sins begin to fall upon his head.

As I think back upon that long walk in the footsteps of Jesus, as I ponder what he endured for me the words of the hymn come to mind: “Jesus to Calvary did go, His love for mankind to show; What He did there, brought hope from despair: O how He loves you, O how He loves me, O how He loves you and me.”

His Final Hours: Antonia Fortress

^{Scripture: Mark 15:12-20}

¹²"What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them.

¹³"Crucify him!" they shouted.

¹⁴"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

¹⁵Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

¹⁶The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. ¹⁸And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" ¹⁹Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. ²⁰And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

"THE KING’S GAME"

It was all a game! That’s what we found as our group entered the remains of the Roman garrison at the Antonia Fortress. The mocking, the scourging, the purple robe and the crown of thorns were all part of a game that the Romans soldiers played with Jesus. Carved into the floor of the fortress was the crude design that symbolized the “King’s Game.” It was often played with condemned prisoners to add to the humiliation of their last hours.

How ironic that this simple game that created false royalty for the pleasure of cruel soldiers, would be played with the true King of Kings! It added greatly to my understanding of Jesus’ words “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Do you play games with Christ? Do you pretend at your faith? Putting on a false face and playing by His rules only when it suits you? Be warned that someday, maybe soon, we will all stand before the Great King and it will be no game. Our eternal destinies will not rely upon the roll of the dice, but upon how we accepted Christ for who he really is. If we stand by Christ Crucified, we shall reign with Christ Glorified.

His Final Hours: Gethsemane

^{Scripture: Matthew 16:36-46
36}Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray." ³⁷And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." ³⁹And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." ⁴⁰And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? ⁴¹Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." ⁴²Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." ⁴³And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. ⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."

Within the confines of the Garden of Gethsemane there are eight olives trees which some botanists claim are over 3,000 years old! If this is true it means that there is a piece of living history that survives from Christ’s day down to our own. It is possible that these very trees were eyewitnesses to the greatest battle ever waged in prayer. Oh that these trees could speak of the agony of that hour. What a tale of grace and glory they could relate.

The night Jesus was betrayed He took His disciples and retreated to Gethsemane and wrestled with His Father in prayer. Jesus like any man did not wish to die. He knew the torments that awaited upon the cross. But He submitted Himself to the Father’s plan. Our salvation was guaranteed in the seven simple words Jesus spoke: “Not my will, but thine be done.”

How hard it is for us sometimes to submit to the will of our Heavenly Father. We think we know a better way and easier way. How we must learn that God’s way is the best way. Are you wrestling with God today over some important matter? Think of Jesus beneath those three thousand years old olives trees and pray the prayer He prayed. “Thy will be done.”

Scott Nichols

Time For The Church To Step Up

 I took part the other day in a webcast with Rick Warren. Yes, that Rick Warren. And during his conversation with us, he pointed out that historically, bad times have been good times for the church. He noted that when the props of society and people's false securities are removed, the church has a great opportunity to step into the vacuum created with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. But I think that the church, unfortunately, too often mirrors the world and not the Gospel. Rather than being bold in our witness and outreach, many churches today are looking to cut staff, budgets and programs. When we should be out front offering the words of Jesus in Matthew 6, "not to be anxious, but seek first the kingdom"; we are "hunkered in the bunker."

I think now is the time for the church to be more visible. To offer more, not less. Our church was out front on some of these issues and we had in place things like Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and Angel Food Ministries. We were strategically positioned to have an impact. And we are looking at expanding, not contracting our efforts.

Even in tough economic times,  I think if presented with a compelling vision, the people of God can and will step it up. What is needed is courageous leaders to sound that advance. I appeal to our churches to trust God and move out in faith. Don't let fear cause you to miss what could be the beginning of a great work of God's Spirit in our land.

Dialoguing To Death

Call it the Law of Unintended Consequences. Our seemingly endless fascination with dialogue over the homosexual issue in this denomination may have the direct result of increasing the death toll of believers in the rest of the world. While that may seem harsh, a recent article in World magazine (March 28, 2009) points out that many non-western Christians particularly in Africa may be paying with their lives while we play word games. The article by Faith J.H. McDonnell makes the claim that "by pushing sexual politics, Episcopal church leaders are compromising the churches' witness abroad, exposing Christian brothers and sisters to violence, and unwittingly aiding and abetting the Islamization of Africa and elsewhere."

Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul of Sudan relates in the same article that Sudanese Christians "are called infidels by the Islamic world when they hear our brothers and sisters from the Christian world talking about same-sex [relationships] to be blessed...It will give them [Muslims] the upper hand to kill our people."

Some might call it ironic that the Reformed Church is carrying on its dialogue regarding homosexuality at the same time as it publicly calls for an end to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Some may call it that...I call it tragic.