He knew this would happen.
To some it seemed that He faced it all like He knew it HAD to happen…
Like He had planned it all.
He told us ahead of time, but we didn’t understand …maybe we didn’t want to.
They just ...took Him ...and we all stood there watching.
He even stopped the meager defense I tried to make.
In the morning they presented him to the Romans, calling for His execution.
It wasn’t long before they got their way.
He was SAVAGELY beaten and belittled.
They jammed thorns into His head like a crown and humiliated Him like a ridiculous farce.
They paraded him, weakened and brutalized through the streets and out of the city.
They nailed Him to one of their vulgar crosses like a thief or a murderer.
He hung there straining for the breath to forgive His executioners & a thief executed with Him.
Eventually He cried out to the Father referencing a psalm that predicted His exact situation.
Then He uttered His now-famous last words, “IT IS FINISHED”, and died.
How could the darkness kill THE light?! How could everything I trusted in be CRUCIFIED?!*
His followers felt lost - like we were tumbling down a steep hill and couldn’t see the bottom.
Sunday morning Mary Magdalene showed up declaring the Lord’s body had been stolen!
Two of us ran to investigate ...and it was true. His body was gone.
We left confused - like we were forgetting something we should have remembered.
Later Mary came again proclaiming she had SEEN Him ...ALIVE!!
We didn’t believe her. Why would we? He was clearly dead.
That evening we gathered again behind locked doors discussing what we should do.
And suddenly He was THERE! With us ...ALIVE!!
We touched Him! He spoke with us and ate with us! He is ALIVE!!
We saw Him many more times before watching Him ascend into heaven
We know what we saw and we will never deny it - no matter the cost.
JESUS THE MESSIAH IS ALIVE! Death has been defeated!!
HE IS ALIVE!!!!
*Lyrics from “Out of Control” by Switchfoot copyright 2011 Atlantic Recording Corp., Lowercase People, CBS
