Hosanna!

4-7-09

As we continue to travel on through The Passion Week I have become ever mindful of the events that Jesus had to face in order to fulfill his passion. While I have always known of the physical trauma that Jesus had to overcome in order to bring salvation to you and me (Mel Gibson sure helped in that), it has only been here recently that I have thought of the spiritual ramifications of the horrible ordeal of crucifixion that Jesus chose to endure.

During our Sunday night discipleship class this week one of our 10th grade students made what was perhaps the most profound observation that I have ever heard from a high school student. We are going through The Sermon on the Mount in an attempt to go deeper instead of wider (another topic for another day) and we were studying the Beatitudes. I had asked what was the real meaning of mercy and what did it have to do with Jesus. I was looking for one of them to say that Jesus showed mercy to us, so we should show mercy to others, but the answer I got completely floored me. She said "Well, I guess that some of the people that Jesus had healed from the blind and the lame were probably among those who were yelling for him to be crucified, and he still didn't say anything to them and still died for them."

WOW!!!

Such wisdom from a 15 year old girl. I told her that I had been studying the Bible for many years and had never though about that. Yes, you can argue that is an argument from silence and simpy dismiss it, but if you stop and ponder on that though for a minute it will shake your innermost being...I know it did for me. Jesus had literally healed these people only days or months prior and yet here they were yelling for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be crucified and he never once said anything to them, or to anyone for that matter, and never once talked back beacuse he loved the people that were accusing him of blasphemy.

I guess the more I study and think I understand about Christ the more I realize I will never understand, but I was dumbfounded by a 15 year old girl on Sunday.

And I almost guarantee it won't be the last time.

Serve your King,
Steven