THE LAMB

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” Rev. 5:12

The day the Lamb of the world died, the noon sun became as dark as night. God’s Son cried out “My God, My God why have you abandoned me?”

It was a long road up to the hill called Place of the Skull. Jesus already had suffered much physical abuse. No longer able to go on, He fell with the heavy cross beam on His back and lay still.

A bystander, Simon from Cyrene, who had just entered the city from the country and had no idea what was going on, was forced by soldiers to carry the condemned Man’s cross.

What a welcome to the city! Crowds of people; some weeping, some running and some yelling insults to this condemned man who looked nearly dead. Simon must have been afraid. What if this man died on the way, would they nail him to the cross instead? Yet, Simon bent to lift the heavy beam off the beaten and bloodied back. It was then Simon gazed into the eyes of Jesus.

He was startled at what he saw there. Instead of the cold, rebellious eyes of a criminal, or the sorrowful, dead eyes of a beaten man, he saw gentle eyes, loving eyes, bright eyes full of compassion and understanding.   Simon didn’t realize he was looking into the face of his Savior, but that one gaze changed his life forever. He was never the same again, but how could you be after an encounter with the Living God.

It’s hard to imagine the pain Jesus endured. Whipped almost to the point of death, hit, kicked and with blood running down his face from the long thorns imbedded in His head, He was laid on the wooden cross and nails were driven through the palms of his hands. Then a large nail was pounded through both his feet together and into the wood. The pain must have been unbearable, yet He suffered in silence.

Once the cross was pulled upright and slammed into the hole, His body weight hanging on His arms caused the air to be cut off. Automatically His legs pushed up to hold the weight on His nailed feet. The pain that screamed through his shoulders and arms was excruciating. His back already beat into hamburger ground against the roughened timber. Blood ran in His eyes, pain shot up His legs from his pierced feet, yet He looked upon the soldiers gambling for His clothing and the people gathered around who were mocking Him. And He had compassion on them.

“Father forgive them!” He cried.   The One flogged, the One spit upon, the One scoffed, the One unjustly accused, the One nailed cruelly to a torture device said, “forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Two criminals were crucified with Him, One on the left and one on the right. One of them mocked Jesus, saying “If you are truly the Messiah, the Son of God who You claim to be, prove it by saving Yourself and us too!”

But the other criminal rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even have fear of God when you are dying! Unlike you and me who deserve our punishment, this Man has done NOTHING wrong!” He got it! Looking at Jesus, he pleaded, “Lord Jesus, remember me when you come into Your Kingdom.”

Jesus met the gaze of the criminal with love in His eyes, “Today,” He replied, “you will be with Me in paradise.”

If you will but ask, there is nothing Jesus can not forgive. His love for you is beyond understanding.

As Jesus. hung in agony, the people, many of whom a couple of days before had sung praises to Him, now shouted abuse. The religious leaders mocked Him saying, “He saved others but He can not save Himself. So He is the king of Israel, is He? Let him come down from the cross right now and we will believe Him.” Even the Roman soldiers scoffed at Him.

This King of Kings, Almighty God, Prince of Peace, could have, indeed, called ten thousand Angels to set Him free. I’m sure mighty winged warriors were lined up in Heaven, anxiously awaiting the command to destroy those who dared trample the Son of the Living God. To annihilate those who dared to crucify the one true, perfect Lamb on a cruel cross. To wipe out forever those who spat upon and mocked their adored Prince.

One call from those cracked lips and the world and all its inhabitants would have been blown to bits. But this God-Man, Jesus, chose to die, alone, for you and me. Only Love will do that.

They hung Jesus on the cross at 9:00 in the morning. After hanging there for several hours, He managed to raise His weary head and looking through a red haze of sweat and blood saw His mother, her sister, Mary and Mary Magdalene, weeping near the foot of the cross. Tears ran down His mother’s upturned face and her eyes were full of sorrow and grief. Jesus knew there was one more task He needed to complete.

“Dear woman, Mother of Mine,” He cried weakly, but loud enough for them to hear, ” do not be afraid. John will be like a son to you and will look after you.” To the disciple standing beside her he said, “John, from now on, treat her like your mother.”

That’s His nature, to always care for those He loves. “Do not be afraid or discouraged. I will never leave you or forsake you.” He told Joshua long ago. “I am with you always even to the end of the age” He told His disciples just before He disappeared in the clouds.

No matter what we go through, no matter how desperate our situation, Jesus is always with us. Sometimes He delivers us from the trial and sometimes He walks beside us holding us up, helping us over the rough places.

At noon the sun became as dark as night. The wrath of God poured out upon His one and only sinless Son. Jesus who had endured silently to this point cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken Me?”

You see since before the beginning of time, the Father, His Son, and the Spirit had been one, together in perfect harmony always, through all things. Until now. Now they were ripped apart. For the Son had the sins of the world, all of them that you and me and everyone else who ever lived or ever will live, placed on Him. Jesus carried the sins of all man kind and His Father could not stand to be near Him, or even to look at Him.

For a moment in time and we don’t know how long, the Son was forsaken by His Father. Jesus, the perfect Son of God was completely alone in a darkness full of evil. This I believe is what killed Him. Death on the cross is very slow and comes as the victim suffocates when the legs become too weak to hold the body weight. Jesus died after only 6 hours and even Pilate was amazed He was dead so soon.

I think the grief and pain of His loving Father’s abandonment squeezed His heart until it shattered into a million pieces. Jesus, the Prince of Heaven, could not bear being ripped from His Father’s presence where He had been for all time. His human heart could not endure the despair of being plunged into utter darkness and buried beneath the unimaginable weight of the terrible evil of all man kind.

He cried out, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.”

Then that compassionate, merciful, shattered heart ceased to beat.

At that moment, God’s wrath was satisfied. The earth shook violently. The sun turned black the day was a dark as night. Huge rocks split in two. People who had been dead for ages came out of the tombs and walked among the living.

The heavy curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn from top to bottom. Signifying that no longer is there a barrier between man and God. No longer does God burn with wrath for His crown creation because of their bent for evil. No longer is there an inner sanctuary where God dwells that only a priest may enter and plead forgiveness for God’s people.

For now the blood of Christ flows, free. A fountain flowing to wash away the sins of the all man kind. No longer does the presence of God dwell in a temple, but now He will enter into any open heart willing to accept Him.

Now you can fall on your knees at the foot of the cross and lift your tear-stained face to the Savior. Now you can ask forgiveness from the Lamb and His blood flowing from that stained cross will wash you clean.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NLT

“But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s wrath.” Romans 5:8-9 NLT