Easter

We have no idea where Simon was by that time, but Simon’s legacy of faith and ministry lived on in his children, the eminent apostle, the churches that were planted as a result, and ultimately in us. And it all went back to that moment when Simon picked up Jesus’ cross and carried it for awhile.

Jesus was right. As he breathed his last, death was defeated. The sting that causes death, sin, was overcome. We are enabled to live life as more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) because, as Jesus said, “It is finished” indeed.

If Jesus could tell the criminal hanging on the cross that he would be with Jesus in paradise today, what is stopping him from saying the same thing you?

If I am honest, I must admit that, in such a situation, I would scream in agony, plead, argue, or perhaps even fight back. If I had Jesus’ power – remember, he healed the sick, raised the dead, and commanded the storm – I expect I would call down fire from heaven. My prayer would be, “Father, cook these people!” Yet, as the clank of the hammer echoed still, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive.”

Jesus’ hands and feet were pierced with nails. He was hanging on a cross. Every breath sent excruciating, searing pain through his entire body. He was going to die. Yet, he still had the presence of mind to watch for his mom, and as Christians, we must do the same.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus repeatedly said and did things for the benefit of the people around him, suggesting that he was perhaps doing the same thing here, and I would submit there are two things we may glean from Jesus’ final, one-line prayer.

In Matthew 27:46, “Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lemá sabachtháni?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'” It was quite possibly the most gut-wrenchingly bitter of Jesus’ seven statements from the cross. It was also probably the most profound because, in this haunting question, we find three significant truths.

In his final moments on the cross, Jesus was thirsty, and in his thirst, we learn two critical lessons. First, he had a legitimate need that had to be satisfied. Are you taking care of yourself so you can take care of those around you? Are your needs important, too? Second, he had reached the point where, once and for all, his human desires were aligned with the Father’s divine will. Do you want what God wants? Are you thirsty?

Come Sunday, everything will be different. We’ll go, find Jesus’ disciples and join them. We’ll study Scripture and his teachings, and we’ll put them to work in our lives, no matter what it costs. We’ll begin to tell people what we know: that Jesus was – that Jesus is – the Son of God, and he gave his life for our sin. And no, maybe we won’t have our names recorded in history books. But maybe, just maybe, we’ll make a difference that will be remembered by someone else.

I just know that this whole thing is not over. No, I think it’s just beginning, and we must choose to follow even now. We must choose to live as Jesus taught us to live. We must choose to tell others so that they, too, will follow and live. We must choose.