Morning Stirs.
You have just seen the children off to school. It's Friday, the sun is shining and there are things to be done about the tent.
You and your family have lived amongst the other tent dwellers for three years now, being located outside the protective city walls of Jerusalem.
The Drumbeat.
This normally quiet district is aroused by a solemn drum beat of a Roman soldier accompanied by the murmuring of a crowd of people, mainly men. This jolts your memory into focus. There was talk around the district about a crucifixion of criminals being held today.
Your heart missed a beat, how could the authorities allow such barbaric cruelty, you asked yourself. Furthermore one of the men, you learned at the market, was Jesus. Would you believe it, Jesus! What has he done to deserve being tortured to death on a cross?
What Was His Crime?
All the people in the entire region, let alone Jerusalem knew about Jesus. After all, whatever your thoughts about his claim to be the son of God, his compassion for people was amazing.
He had healed many folk, told unique stories and his miracles were sensational. Three times he brought people back to life after they had been confirmed dead! You could only conclude that the established Jewish priests in their jealousy and abject ignorance were behind this travesty.
The Compulsion.
Responding to a strange compulsion, you fasten the tent flap and off you set towards Golgotha at the top of a hill not too far off. Thankfully, the impailing of the three men had already happened. Standing on tip toe you could see the crowd filing past the unfortunates in a morbid, shuffling procession, before turning back on itself to continue looking on.
Joining the crowd on its right hand side on its outer edge, you progressed towards the criminal on the left of Jesus. Jesus was in the middle and was distinguishable by a plaque above his head. You could just read what it said in Hebrew “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS”. The same title, presumably, was written in Latin and Greek.
Thoughts Running Through My Mind.
In the area in front of the crosses there were stationed a group of Roman soldiers, these had drawn swords and shields. On approaching the crosses, your eye caught sight of a small group of people off to the right. These were mainly women. Standing near them was a solitary Roman soldier, he had discarded his plumed helmet but was casually leaning on a long spear. A thought crossed your mind as to why he held a spear, as his comrades only had swords. Drawing level with the gap between Jesus and the man on his left, the crowd were suddenly thrown into a wild panic. Several Roman soldiers barged into the crowd sending people sprawling. Were they after an accomplice of the criminals? As people pushed and shoved each other in order to escape injury you received a savage blow on your side causing you to stumble. The several running steps at a crouch expelled you from the throng to an area behind the crosses. Regaining your balance and breath you were startled by the fact that you stood there alone. Totally alone. To stay in the gap would surely result in being arrested so on a sudden impulse by taking three or four strides you could hide behind the cross of Jesus. The vertical post was just wide enough to conceal your body. Standing against this rough timber you looked right and left over your shoulders. The crowd had settled down and the guards now had their backs to you. For added security you allowed your legs to bend and by sliding down the post rested in a sitting position behind the cross of Jesus. How long you could remain concealed was a cause for concern but your overwhelming desire was to think and to think hard. The questions burning deep into your very soul were how has all this happened? What’s behind this event? What’s really going on? Answers to these sorts of questions were hard to comprehend. Nevertheless in concentrating with eyelids closed you consider past events recorded in scripture. Although not particularly well versed in theology you recalled certain accounts from God’s Holy Word.
Lessons From Scripture.
What about Abraham? Told by God to sacrifice his long awaited only son Isaac. (Genesis 22:1) There was the boy Isaac, carrying the wood for the burnt offering, his father with a flaming torch in hand. Isaac then enquired about the need for a lamb for the burnt offering to which Abraham replied “God himself will provide the lamb”. You focus hard now. What did that man dressed in rough clothing say in the wilderness? That’s right, John the Baptist he was called, and he greeted Jesus with the phrase “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. (John 1:29) Could that be what was happening behind you, Jesus Christ being sacrificed for mankind?
More and More Strange.
Still deep in thought you become aware of a drop in the temperature. In fact it becomes quite cold. On opening your eyes the reason is very obvious. The sun high above you is slowly but surely being covered by the moon. This causes its warmth and light to diminish. Watching this movement of the moon is unique in your experience. Is this a sign from God that at this precise moment the planets are signalling a very special event in history? This triggers a thought about the birth of Jesus. You had been told that learned man from eastern countries had followed a star, which had led them to Bethlehem where Jesus had been born. How strange is that?
In The Presence Of The Lord.
Lowering your line of sight to the distant horizon you could see a stretched out black cloud advancing towards you. This was uncanny. Being involved in farming you learned to read the weather signs, being able to judge when it would rain and so on. This cloud, if you could call it a cloud, was different. It was an approaching darkness and was beginning to engulf the whole region. By this time you thought it must be noontime as the blotted out sun was directly above this dreadful place where you found yourself. A sudden shiver went through your body. Drawing your outer garment tight around your neck didn’t bring any comfort. By adjusting your position but still sitting you lean over to one side placing your hand on the ground for leverage. But it wasn’t stony soil you felt it was some sort of material. Being used to rough fabric you immediately recognised this as different, it was a fine woven garment. Your urge for warmth led you to draw it from its resting place behind you to wrap it around your body. In doing this you could feel damp patches on it which made you tingle with shock. Having been laid below the feet of Jesus the blood dripping from his many wounds had soaked into the garment. Discarding it quickly to one side you returned to your thoughts. What on earth was going on?
Jesus Spoke Of Three Days.
As a child you recalled your grandmother, bless her. She had lots of stories about ancestors and how God had chosen them as a special race. Yes, she told about the escape from Egypt and how the cruel Pharaoh prevented them from leaving. She recounted ten plagues altogether and one of them was a plague of darkness which lasted for three days. Furthermore it was a darkness which could be felt. (Exodus 10:21-22) Thankfully this darkness was not a total blackout as the foreground could still be seen. Will it be like this for three days you thought? Jesus had something to say about three days. He said he must be killed and after three days rise again! Was he due to die any minute now, did that mean he would come back to life on Sunday? (Mark 8:31)
You sensed that the accusing priests and Synagogue leaders had put two and two together about this darkness being of the Lord. The crowd had sensed it too causing it to stop its taunting and mocking as it was now silent and awe struck.
Ask And It Shall be Given You.
The silence was eventually broken by a gasping, hardly discernable, voice up to your right. The criminal there, in a last desperate attempt to save his life, demanded that Jesus should work a miracle and get the three of them down and restored to life. This prompted an agonized response from the other criminal. “Don’t you fear God? We are getting what we deserve but Jesus has done nothing wrong” adding “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom”. Jesus strained to graciously reply “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise”. (Luke 23:39-43) Did you hear correctly, Jesus had offered this criminal a place in paradise with himself, that day? There would be an amazing transformation, from the agony of a cross to the bliss of paradise. You felt the need to have that for yourself. If he was going to paradise then where was the other criminal’s spirit going to end up? That place had to be Hell because Jesus made references in some of his talks to such a place being real.
The White Horse.
Holding your head in your hands with your elbows supported by your bent knees the discarded blood stained garment was in your eye line. As you looked down you began to feel drowsy and by allowing your eyelids to close your imagination took on a dimension beyond normal thoughts. This was some sort of spiritual experience. Oddly enough you saw a man on an island and somehow you were able to tap into a vision which he was having. All of this was weird because it involved a future event. Astonishingly you recognised the man involved. He was standing with the group of women that you passed earlier on and furthermore you recalled his name as being John, a favourite disciple of Jesus. This vision you saw was due to be written down in the fullness of time. It was becoming hard to comprehend what you could see. The mental pictures were blurring over but as a conclusion you distinctly remembered seeing an unusual rider mounted on a white horse. He was wearing crowns on his head but the most striking feature was that he was dressed in a robe dipped in blood! (Revelations 19:13) You realised now that the garment at your feet was in fact a robe and had presumably been draped around the body of Jesus. It was undoubtedly stained by his blood and appeared in the spirit world of the Lord at a future date.
The Passover Lamb.
You then remembered the time of the Passover. You recall that time when the Israelite nation was about to leave Egypt from captivity and were told by God, through Moses, to sacrifice a lamb and to paint its blood on the door frames. (Exodus 12:13) The blood would then alert an angel to pass over those homes and not kill the eldest child living there. Your heart went out even to the Egyptians for their loss. Why did this essential, life-giving blood need to be shed? Suppose the system of sacrificing animals to appease the Lord and gain his forgiveness came to a close. It would be possible for a new system of accepting the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God instead. Just the one for the many.
The Words of Isaiah.
Time seemed to pause and have little significance whilst you considered the words of the prophet Isaiah. These had been read many times in the Synagogue.
A couple of lines struck home “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our wrongdoing; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed”. (Isaiah 53:1-12)
Part of it comes to mind, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax, it has melted away within me.
Things are beginning to make sense now and you recall having to memorise a whole section of the scripture which, as a young person made no sense at all. Most of your fellow scholars learned Psalm 23 but you chose Psalm 22 instead. But now the prophetic words are becoming clear.
My strength is dried up like a broken pot and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. (Psalm 22:14-20)
A band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. But you O Lord, be not far off, O my strength come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of these evilmen”.(Psalm 22:14-20)
It Is Finished.
Surely this Psalm of David foretold a future event which was now happening behind you. Three hours have passed by and with a final effort Jesus cried out in unbelievable agony “My God, my God why have you forsaken me”. Moments later Jesus summoned the last of his strength to shout “It is finished!” You were then aware that his incredible earthly life had ended. Your heart beat increased and your own breath came in short gasps. A sudden earthquake made it worse. You questioned yourself. What could you do about what had happened? Turning to one side you crawled around the foot of the cross and knelt at the feet of Jesus. Your unspoken appeal to Him for his forgiveness is truly overwhelming. As you bring yourself to shuffle away from the cross, wiping tears from your eyes you look up to see his bowed head encircled by a ring of bright light. The moon has finally begun to move revealing a burst of sunlight which you considered to signal the birth of a new era. Meanwhile the attendant centurion continued to express his opinion that Jesus surely was the Son of God to those standing by. (Mark 15:39)
My Salvation Assured.
Having now experienced the forgiveness of the Saviour a restoration of your soul had taken place. Within you there was incredible relief and joy as you had an assurance of a passage to paradise! All this made possible by acknowledging Jesus as being the Christ, the son of the living God. Standing in awe with your gaze fixed on the now limp body of Jesus, you were pushed aside by a soldier. It was he that you saw earlier, leaning casually on his spear. Now, he was very business like, efficient and determined. He was in full uniform, having donned his plumed helmet. Raising his spear, using both strong and well drilled hands, he thrust it into the side of Jesus. You turned away at the sight of blood and water flowing from the gaping wound. (John 19:34) You consoled yourself with the thought that he would not feel any more pain.
Thoughts, Earthquakes, Miracles.
Leaving the cross behind with mixed emotions of joy and sadness you decided to make your way home. The other spectators were also dispersing with heads bowed, deep in thought and now, eerily silent. From time to time you glanced back towards the three crosses to fully imprint the scene upon your memory. Saturday was spent in something of a daze, mental reflection on reflection. Calling to mind half remembered passages of scriptures, which reinforced your newfound conviction, that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. Sometimes you prayed to God at other times you talked things over with your family especially your oldest son. Mainly though you were lost in your thoughts and wondered what would happen next. Following a disturbed night of twisting and turning, sometimes half awake, sometimes asleep, you felt that the tiredness finally took over just as dawn was breaking! Resting now in a deep sleep you were cruelly awakened by a violent, sudden earth tremor. Clasping the frame of the bed you prised yourself up, and scrambled to embrace your loved ones. The youngest was crying and shaking. A few minutes elapsed allowing a return to normality. The relief was welcomed as the screams from neighbours and the yelping of dogs subsided. Leaving the tent together, you were able to establish that the nearby city walls were still intact. Although some neighbours were distressed there seemed to be no damage or loss of life. Realising that it was now Sunday morning, the third day after the crucifixion of Jesus, you wondered if He had come back to life, as He predicted He would. The urge to find out took your breath away and your pulse began to race. Dressing hurriedly with no thought of breakfast or even a goodbye kiss you darted at speed, between the shocked neighbours and their tents. Now fully alert, your agility enabled you to avoid tent guy ropes and other obstacles. With bursting lungs and tiring legs you headed to the exact place where the body of Jesus had been buried.
The Third Day.
Rounding the final corner by a cluster of palm trees you saw the familiar rocky outcrop. In the foreground you noticed a squad of Roman Soldiers. They were in a confused and wildly argumentative state. Two of them were fighting and others had drawn their swords. Behind them you could see the boulder which had been placed over the entrance to the tomb where the body of Jesus had been laid to rest, it had been dislodged! The entrance therefore was open. In a brief discussion with the nearest soldier you learned that the body of Jesus had gone, vanished. Furthermore their negligence at allowing Jesus to ‘escape’ would result in all of them being executed. This explained why they were blaming each other. Leaving them to consider their situation you took a bold decision to walk forward to look into the tomb. Having lived nearby these last three years you had seen the excavation of this tomb in its several stages of construction. You were on good terms with the workmen who used their axes, hammers and chisels to painstakingly dig into the solid rock. On one occasion you remembered having your lunch with them and looking into it to check on progress. It had a low ceiling, the walls were jagged and the floor was set down below two shallow steps. On the left a flat ledge had been formed to allow a body to be laid on it. As the chamber had an east facing entrance the morning sunlight now penetrated the interior sufficiently to see inside.
Lazarus.
Not too long ago you had been told that Jesus raised a man called Lazarus back to life. (John 11:44) He had been dead for four days and on the command of Jesus he miraculously walked out of his tomb. He was still dressed in the typical grave clothes with a napkin round his head and strips of cloth wrapped around his body. Looking down onto the ledge you saw the napkin used to cover the head of Jesus, folded very neatly at arms length, away from the rest of the slightly crumpled strips of cloth formerly wrapped around the body. (John 20:5-8) Staring you in the face was the most obvious fact. Namely that the body of Jesus was missing! Evidence of His burial was still present though. The joy of experiencing the thrill of the forgiveness of Jesus when kneeling at the foot of His cross returned. This emotion brought tears of thankfulness to your eyes. Wiping away those tears with your hands, the slow refocusing of your sight on the space between the head covering and the body clothing was alarming.
Making Sense Of The Miraculous.
Speculative thoughts raced through your inquisitive mind. If His body somehow evaporated and floated upwards, this would account for the grave clothes being left on the slab. That being the case should mean that the head and body coverings surely should be attached to each other, with no spaces between them. You confirmed your first observation that the head covering was most definitely neatly folded up, not ruffled in any way. On entering the tomb it struck you that the massive stone which covered the entrance could not have been moved away easily. Surely several strong men with levers would have been needed. The guarding soldiers would most definitely have stopped that from happening. Did the earth quake dislodge the boulder? All that has happened here is truly supernatural being something that only the Lord could do. Then suddenly thinking about the virgin birth of Jesus with the stories about angels announcing the good news, maybe they attended the grave and moved the stone away? Still puzzled by the detached state of His burial garments you searched your thoughts for a possible answer. You warned yourself about the danger of supposition but nevertheless you allowed your mind to have full rein.
From The Dust Of The Earth.
Thinking back to the beginning of time and the wonderful account concerning the Lord’s creation of everything in the first book inspired by Moses (Genesis 1) you were always enthralled about the creation of Adam, the first man. You had repeatedly visualised God taking handfuls of dust, adding a quantity of water and forming Adams body. That was miraculous, but at first his body was lifeless. He became complete when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. (Genesis 2:7) Being mindful of this you began to speculate about the possibility, however remote, that in the same way God breathed life into the nostrils of Adam, He breathed resurrection life into the nostrils of His precious Son! Would that fit the circumstances? Maybe, if it was our Father God who came down from heaven on this most immense and vital occasion, it was surely to reunite His Son to Himself. He could have done this by carefully, and lovingly removing the head covering, and setting it to one side so as administer the kiss of life! Collapsing to your knees overwhelmed at the thought of the whole company of heaven rejoicing and praising God as this miracle took place. You knew deep in your soul that Jesus was risen from the dead. Hallelujah! Of course your speculation could be wrong and, if so, will happily be corrected when welcomed into paradise by our immortal and risen Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paid And Bought. Money Vs Blood.
Retracing your steps homeward, you passed the group of soldiers who were now in deep discussion with members of the temple guards. There appeared to be a counting out of coins into the welcoming, greedy hands of the soldiers before they dashed off in a very suspicious wary manner. By the time you had walked a short distance, the squad of soldiers overtook you with a jingle in their purses as they jogged past in formation. Not wishing to be arrested and having been largely unnoticed by the officer, you kept on walking as though you hadn’t seen what had just happened. By the time the soldiers were out of sight your thoughts returned to the napkin puzzle. You thought about your fastidious uncle who was steeped in Jewish tradition and his habit at meal times. Always, without exception, he would use his napkin to cover his lap. You found it irksome to see him, time after time, folding his napkin in precise fashion and placing it neatly to one side between each course of his meal. When the meal was over it was then that he ruffled his napkin and randomly set it to one side. Was the neatly folded napkin in the tomb intended to be a positive indication that Jesus, although being dead and now resurrected to life was not yet totally finished? Your uncle’s habit certainly communicated to those serving him his meal that he was not finished eating. Could you, dare you, suppose that Jesus Christ was likewise not finished with the world and that He would most certainly return to it?
Salavation Assured.
Surprisingly, it was still only mid-morning when you returned to your home in the tented community. All the neighbours, without exception, were mingling in excited groups outside their tents. Children were not playing as usual because they too had an interest in recent and immediate news surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus and the resurrection of saints in Jerusalem two days ago. Already the news about Jesus’ body being missing from the grave was circulating which caused all kinds of rumours to be put about. Your personal perspective from your experience at the cross of Jesus and having visited the empty tomb was different to other peoples. There was no doubt in your mind that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and by your own confession of believing in Him, your eternal destiny was secured. By believing this to be so you resolved to explain your testimony to as many as would listen. This in the hope that they too would learn the truth as to how to gain peace with God and an assurance of a place in paradise. The truth as to what’s behind the cross of Jesus Christ and His resurrection is founded in the incredible love that God almighty has for the human race. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)