From the Bunker Day 27
Station of the cross 8 — Jesus’ Lament
Station of the cross 9 — Jesus is crucified
This past year has seen quite a few babies born to families in our church. Their chubby cheeks and sweet smiles are always welcome. When I hear a baby coo or cry in church it reminds me of the days when we had our own babies in church with us. It warms my heart. Then I read passages like Luke 23.
And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Luke 23:27-31
It makes my heart sad to think that a day is coming that is so horrible that families will not even want to have children. Of course this is the crucifixion passage, and Luke is looking at the events and pointing out a couple life lessons. The first deals with the man from Cyrene. It’s hard to know exactly who Simon is apart from disjointed references that may or may not be attributed to Simon and his family. I believe that in the context Simon stood out for his compassion. Maybe when Jesus stumbled, Simon reached out to help and the Roman Soldier said, ”hey, you want to help, then you carry his cross.” Jesus’ statement, that His father calls men and draws them to Himself, was played out in Simon. In spite of the risks Simon reached out, offered compassion, picked up the cross and followed Jesus.
The second incident is the lament of the women Jesus passes. They were crying out loud. Their hearts were so broken that the only way to express themselves was in their loud and mournful cry. Jesus directs them to something far worse than anything they could imagine. It’s as if he was saying, “repent of your sins that God would spare you from what is about to come.”
The third event is the thieves on the cross. The one guy was in such pain that all he could do was mock Jesus. Maybe, he thought, if he mimicked what the religious leaders were saying, they could get him down or at least give him a quick death. The other thief recognizes that Jesus is innocent and calls his fellow thief to stop. He hopes that by aligning himself with Jesus that he would be released as well, but his hope was that Jesus would usher him into the new kingdom. Because of his repentant heart, in death he found eternal life.
Fourthly, Jesus said, “it is finished.” Everything he came to do culminated on the cross. God’s holiness, wrath, and justice were satisfied. God’s mercy, grace, and love were poured out on all mankind. God’s acceptance of the fallen, the broken, and the repentant was (and is) for all who would believe.
On this Good Friday, when most Americans are stuck in their homes worrying about the end of Covid19, just remember this, “I (you) have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I (you) who lives but Christ who lives in me (you). And the life I (you) now live in the flesh I (you) live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me (you) and gave himself for me (us),” Galatians 2:20,21.
You have eternity ahead of you. By focusing on what God has in front of you, you will be amazed to see where God is working. I’m just saying…
From the Bunker Day 27
Station of the cross 8 — Jesus’ Lament
Station of the cross 9 — Jesus is crucified
And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Luke 23:27-31
It makes my heart sad to think that a day is coming that is so horrible that families will not even want to have children. Of course this is the crucifixion passage, and Luke is looking at the events and pointing out a couple life lessons. The first deals with the man from Cyrene. It’s hard to know exactly who Simon is apart from disjointed references that may or may not be attributed to Simon and his family. I believe that in the context Simon stood out for his compassion. Maybe when Jesus stumbled, Simon reached out to help and the Roman Soldier said, ”hey, you want to help, then you carry his cross.” Jesus’ statement, that His father calls men and draws them to Himself, was played out in Simon. In spite of the risks Simon reached out, offered compassion, picked up the cross and followed Jesus.
The second incident is the lament of the women Jesus passes. They were crying out loud. Their hearts were so broken that the only way to express themselves was in their loud and mournful cry. Jesus directs them to something far worse than anything they could imagine. It’s as if he was saying, “repent of your sins that God would spare you from what is about to come.”
The third event is the thieves on the cross. The one guy was in such pain that all he could do was mock Jesus. Maybe, he thought, if he mimicked what the religious leaders were saying, they could get him down or at least give him a quick death. The other thief recognizes that Jesus is innocent and calls his fellow thief to stop. He hopes that by aligning himself with Jesus that he would be released as well, but his hope was that Jesus would usher him into the new kingdom. Because of his repentant heart, in death he found eternal life.
Fourthly, Jesus said, “it is finished.” Everything he came to do culminated on the cross. God’s holiness, wrath, and justice were satisfied. God’s mercy, grace, and love were poured out on all mankind. God’s acceptance of the fallen, the broken, and the repentant was (and is) for all who would believe.
On this Good Friday, when most Americans are stuck in their homes worrying about the end of Covid19, just remember this, “I (you) have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I (you) who lives but Christ who lives in me (you). And the life I (you) now live in the flesh I (you) live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me (you) and gave himself for me (us),” Galatians 2:20,21.
You have eternity ahead of you. By focusing on what God has in front of you, you will be amazed to see where God is working. I’m just saying…
From the Bunker Day 27
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