In order for us to take a fresh look at Easter; we
must take a fresh trip to Calvary. Several years ago
I had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land and
experience the trip down the Via Dolorosa (The Way
of Suffering) that Jesus Christ took for each of us.
During that time the Lord ministered to me this
message. Today I ask you to join me in this journey,
so together we can not only take a fresh look at
Easter, but so we can experience the true meaning of
Easter.
Destination #1 from Glory to Galilee! (Luke 1:26-33)
Gabriel came from God to Galilee to a virgin named
Mary. Bethlehem in Judea is the place He would be
born – yet Nazareth in Galilee was the place He was
conceived. One thing we need to realize is that
Jesus has always been and will always be. He came
from the right hand of the throne of Heaven to come
down to the earth as the only possible means of
redemption and reconciliation of mankind. He left
the glory of Heaven and came to a fallen earth. His
arrival came in the most vulnerable way, as a baby,
born to a virgin teenager named Mary. He grew up in
a world being tempted in all things as we are, yet
never did He sin. Therefore, He became the ultimate
sacrifice for all mankind.
Destination #2 from Galilee to Gethsemane! (Mark
14:32-42)
Thursday night – Jesus and His disciples came to the
Garden – a place they would often visit. Yet, this
time was different! This time He had to make the
most difficult decision of His life. The choice He
made here was a matter of life and death for Him,
but even more importantly for all mankind -- past,
present and future. The word Gethsemane in the Greek
means “oil press - a place for squeezing oil out of
olives.” This was definitely a time of squeezing…as
He wrestled with what was about to happen.
Jesus told His disciples to sit while He went a
little further and prayed. He took Peter, James and
John with Him. The Bible says, that He was “deeply
distressed and troubled…His soul was overwhelmed to
the point of death. He asked Peter, James and John
to pray while He went a little further and prayed to
the Father. The more He prayed…the more intense it
got because He knew that His time had come. In His
prayers He pleaded with the Father to let this cup
pass from Him. Over in Israel the groom and the
father of the bride will exchange a cup of wine. The
opportunity is there for the bride to drink it
(which means she accepts the man) or to not drink it
(which means she rejects the man). If she drinks the
cup, she is making a life-long commitment to this
man. Jesus is asking the cup pass from Him. As He is
wrestling in prayer we see how intense it got with
Dr. Luke’s account. The Bible says, “And being in
anguish, He prayed more earnestly and His sweat was
like drops of blood falling to the ground.” The word
anguish in the Greek means, “to be in a state of
great mental and emotional grief an anxiety.” Jesus
here experiences what the medical world calls
hematidrosis – which is the actual mingling of blood
and sweat together as in the cases of extreme
anguish. In the end of wrestling, as well as in the
midst of it, He prays, “Not my will, but your will
be done.” In other words…He is willing to drink the
cup.
There is something important again that we must
understand as we take a look at what happened when
they came to arrest Him. Take a look at John
18:4-11. It says, “knowing all that was going to
happen to Him.” He asked them who they wanted. They
said, Jesus of Nazareth and He said, “I am He.” When
He said this the Bible tells us that they fell to
the ground under the power of God. He had power to
destroy them all. Peter cut off Malchus’ ear and
Jesus stopped him – healing the ear and saying,
“Shall I not drink the cup my Father has given me?”
Jesus was saying, I am committed to this thing until
the very end. He knew why He came and what He was
going to have to do in order to get it done. What
kept Him going…you and me – His love for us!!
Destination #3 From Gethsemane to Gabbatha! (John
19:1-16)
After being arrested in Gethsemane, they brought
Jesus to the High Priest and then to Pilate early
Friday morning. They took Jesus and they flogged
Him. The whip they used was made of strips of
leather that had pieces of bone. They would strip
you down and whip you 39 times…13 on each side and
13 on the back. Many times people were killed during
flogging. Each time they whipped the individual the
bones would rip the flesh off the body. That is why
it says in Isaiah 53:14, “His appearance was so
disfigured beyond that of any man and His form was
marred beyond human likeness.”
This is also the place where they placed the crown
of thorns on His head and a purple robe on Him. As
they would push the crown of thorns on His head –
the thorns cut into His head and the blood flowed.
They hit Him on the head again and again with a rod
and struck Him in the face. They mocked Him and spit
upon Him. He said nothing except verses 10-11 ®.
Then is says in verse 13, they brought Him to the
Stone Pavement – Gabbatha. This is the place of
judgment and the place that He was handed over to be
crucified.
Destination #4 From Gabbatha to Golgotha!
At around 9:00 AM Friday morning they brought Jesus
to the place of the Skull called Golgotha and they
crucified Him. They made Him carry His own cross
until He could not carry it anymore. They put the
nail through His one wrist and then the other. Then
they put the nail through His two feet. Realize,
that He is beaten beyond description, naked and
crucified between two thieves. They offered Him wine
mixed with gall which is a pain killer and He
refused. In an effort to better comprehend what
Jesus went through on your behalf and mine; let me
share from a medical standpoint what it is like to
be crucified.
Medical Description of Crucifixion
The cross is placed on the ground and the exhausted
man is quickly thrown backwards with his shoulders
against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the
depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a
heavy square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and
deep into the wood. Quickly he moves to the other
side and repeats the action, being careful not to
pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flex
and movement. The cross is then lifted into place.
The left foot is pressed backward against the right
food, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail
is driven through the arch of each, leaving the
knees flexed. The victim is now crucified. As he
slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in
the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shoots along
the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain
– the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on
the median nerves. As he pushes himself upward to
avoid this stretching torment, he places the full
weight on the nail through his feet. Again, he feels
the searing agony of the nail tearing through the
nerves between the bones of the feet.
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As the arms fatigue, cramps sweep through the muscles, knotting them
in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the
inability to push himself upward to breathe. Air can be drawn into
the lungs but not exhaled. He fights to raise himself in order to
get even one small breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the
lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subside.
Spasmodically he is able to push himself upward to exhale and bring
in life-giving oxygen.
Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending
cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is
torn from his lacerated back as he moves up and down against the
rough timber. Then another agony begins: a deep, crushing pain deep
in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and beings
to compress the heart. It is now almost over – the loss of
tissue fluids has reached a critical level – the compressed heart is
struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues –
the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small
gulps of air.
He can feel the chill of death creeping through his tissues…Finally
he allows his body to die. All this the Bible sums up in the
words…”And they crucified Him.”
Now, let’s take a moment and hear the words Jesus spoke from the
cross. There was darkness from the sixth hour until the ninth hour –
12 noon until 3 PM.
1. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
He forgave the ones who put Him on the cross. He forgave the ones
who were mocking Him and who were insulting Him. He forgave every
single one of them. He also forgave all our sins right there.
2. “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.”
Here we see that Jesus is crucified between two thieves. Both mock
Him and then one changes and ask Jesus to remember him…Jesus
promised him that he would be with Him in Paradise that very day!
3. “Behold your son.” “Behold your mother.”
He makes sure His mother is taken care of as He speaks to John to
take care of her.
4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
At this moment – Father God turns His face from His son because at
this moment all the sin of mankind –past – present and future has
been put on Him who knew no sin!! Here we see His complete
identification with sinners as He took our sins. Quote from Psalm
22:1. At this time – the veil of the temple was torn in two from top
to bottom. Earthquakes opened tombs of those who had died as the
righteous were raised!!
5. “I thirst.”
His mouth dry and His body dehydrated, again showing how human He
was in this moment, He thirst.
6. “It is finished.”
The Greek tense indicates that the word of redemption has been
completed once for all!! Sin no longer has to have a hold! Death no
longer has victory!! You do not have to stay the way you are – you
can experience God’s very best now and eternal life as well!!
7. “Into Your Hands, I commit my Spirit.”
A prayer from Psalm 31:5 taught to Jewish children. A prayer of
confidence!! He commits Himself to the Father.
Destination #5 From Golgotha to the Grave! (John 19:40-41)
They carried His beaten, battered dead body and put it in the tomb
of Joseph of Arimathea. He and Nicodemus – a man who earlier visited
Jesus at night wrapped His body and put it in the tomb. A giant
stone was rolled in front of the tomb.
A violent earthquake (Matthew 28:1-7) on Sunday morning!! An angel
came and rolled the stone away!! The guards were so afraid the Bible
says they became like dead men. The angel told Mary Magdalene and
the other Mary – HE IS RISEN!! Jesus appeared to His followers at
least 10 times over a period of 40 days.
Destination #6 From the Grave to Galilee!
Jesus had spoken these words (Matthew 26:32) “But after I have
risen, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Then again awe see He speaks to the women, in Matthew 28:7 -- “go
quickly and tell His disciples…goeth before you into Galilee – there
you will see Him.”
Finally, we see that He gives His disciples what we refer to as the
Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20)
Here we see our life mission – to reach the world and make disciples
of all nations!
Destination #7 From Galilee to Glory! (Acts 1:9-11)
Jesus ascends from the Mount of Olives into the sky. His disciples
stand there staring I the sky – awestruck and perhaps waiting to see
Him come back. Angels have to come and tell them to go and fulfill
their mission. Also, they give the promise that Jesus will come back
someday just like He left.
The Truth is Jesus is coming back and it could be any moment. Are
you ready for His return? Have you experienced the power of having
your sins forgiven? Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ a reality in
your life? God loves you so much and wants to give you a second
chance, a fresh start, a new beginning. He wants you to experience
His best, which is the very best of all! He is reaching out to you
today so you can experience the true meaning of Easter. The decision
is yours and yours alone. I urge you to surrender your life to Him
afresh and really begin to live!
[Pastor Larry A. Crawford from Open Arms Christian Fellowship] |
