When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. (Luke 23:48-49)

A little girl named Faith, 3, went to Good Friday services. That night she prayed, "Thank You, Jesus, for dying on the Cross. And thank You we didn't have to watch!"

I can certainly understand where Faith is coming from…I don’t think I could have taken it. Watching my innocent Jesus suffer and die like a common thief and thrown into a borrowed grave. Knowing that if I even lifted a finger to help, I would be cut down by a Roman sword and be dead in an instant- yet dying on the inside as each drop of blood spilled to the ground in front of a weeping, mocking, indifferent crowd. Yes, I’m also glad that I didn’t have to watch.

But then there were those who “knew Him”, and even though every shred of their being was pulling them away from the scene of the crime of all crimes, they “stood at a distance, watching these things” (Luke 23:49).

How would my life be different if I was there? How would yours? We’d like to believe that we have an idea of what happened on Good Friday- but motion pictures, plays, and paintings don’t even come close to what it must have been like that unbearable day. Imagine your worst horror, your most frightening nightmare, and your deepest loss all combined together in the space of 6 long hours. Multiply that times infinity as you look into the suffering eyes of the loving Savior. Would you ever doubt His word or His ways again? Could you even conceive of betraying the One who hung in your rightful place? It’s easy to live a wishy-washy faith when you are basing it on a story and a holiday- it’s quite a different matter if you had been a part of the crowd that witnessed the unjust death of the Lord of life.

Nearly 300 years ago, a song writer named Isaac Watts attempted to capture in writing what people saw on Good Friday. Slowly meditate on his words below, and try to picture in your mind the scene he portrays and connect emotionally with what he felt:

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, my Lord;
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

This weekend could change you forever…this weekend should change you forever! Jesus died and came back from the dead for you- questions?

Perhaps you need a good survey of the wondrous cross to bring your life back into proper perspective. The celebration of Easter Sunday takes on a whole new significance when you spend meaningful time considering what happened on Friday.  I don't wish you a happy Easter, I wish you a transforming Easter.

Grieve at the loss of your Savior, then joy at the grief.

Questions:

1) What does Easter mean to you?

2) How does the song above impact your view of this weekend?

3) What is one change you want to make in consideration of Christ’s death and resurrection?

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