After
I woke up in the garden everything happened so fast it nearly made my head
swim. The light from torches bobbed up the hill. Men’s angry voices broke the
night’s silence. Judas approached, followed by a crowd of armed men. Judas
kissed Jesus, and immediately the mob seized him. Drawn swords glinted in the
moonlight. It all happened so fast, and, I’m ashamed to admit, I was so
frightened I fled. Through the olive grove, down the hillside and into the
crowded city, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.
I
ran into my house and bolted the door, shaking in the darkened room. At any
moment I expected a heavy pounding on the door. I was sure Roman soldiers or an
angry mob would come to arrest me. The next night some of the others came in
the dark. They all had heard rumors of what had happened to Jesus. All we knew
for sure was that he’d been arrested.
How could this
be happening?
I wondered. I was so sure Jesus was our promised Messiah. Surely there had been
a mistake. I wept. I prayed. I was afraid to go out on the streets for fear I’d
be arrested too. After one of the women came with news that Jesus had been
sentenced to death, I conquered my fear and decided I’d have to see for myself.
I
donned a cloak with a hood pulled low over my forehead and ventured out to the
crowded city streets. Before long I heard loud voices and saw a crowd along the
road. Elbowing my way toward the front, I was finally able to see who was on
the road ahead. What I saw appalled me. A troop of Roman soldiers escorted
three prisoners, each carrying a cross to his own execution.
I
hardly recognized Him at first. A crown of thorns encircled his head, and blood
dripped down his face. His knees buckled as He struggled to carry the heavy
wooden cross. His face was contorted with pain. As He stumbled with His burden,
soldiers and people in the crowd spit on Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail,
king of the Jews.” Others, some of whom I recognized, wept quietly.
As
He staggered past, I gasped when I saw His torn back. The Roman whip had ripped
the flesh from His back, leaving nothing but raw flesh. I’m not ashamed to
admit that tears filled my eyes. It hurt so to see my friend suffer. I pushed
away from the crowd in a daze, not knowing what the future might hold. All I
knew for sure was that Jesus was headed for the hill of Golgotha and execution.
I feared the same for myself.
Matthew
27: 28-30 They stripped him and put a
scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on
his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and
mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the
staff and struck him on the head again and again.
Food
for thought: Are you able to trust in Jesus even when times are difficult? When
circumstances seem insurmountable? Can you accept how Jesus suffered for your
sins?
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