The Cross

I'm getting to the end of the book of Mark now. . . Having spent the last several weeks learning about Jesus' life and ministry, it is especially meaningful to read about His death. I am so deeply moved and encouraged when I think about the fact that he willingly walked the way of the cross. He chose to obey His father and fulfill the scriptures.

Sometimes I think we loose sight of the enormous sacrifice that Jesus made. We minimize it in so many ways. . . It hit me again today as I was reading in Mark 14. . .

They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Why would Jesus be so crushed with grief? Why would he beg his father to change the plan? Because the pain and agony He was about to face was excruciating. Maybe we tend to minimize the cross because Jesus was God. . . So we subconsciously think that it wasn't really that bad. That somehow He didn't really feel the pain because, after all, He was God. But I think we have it backwards. I think Jesus felt all of the physical pain one could possibly bear in His body because He was fully human - and He felt all of the grief and anguish He could possibly bear in His soul because He was fully God, carrying the sin of the world.

Whatever the reasons are that we minimize the cross, this passage is an in-your-face reminder that the burden Jesus carried was bigger than anything any one of us has ever experienced. . . He willingly walked to the cross not because His "God-ness" eased the physical pain and agony of the cross, but because His love for us propelled Him forward and led him to endure the pain and agony of the cross.

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. Hebrews 12:2-3

You are the joy that propelled him forward. You are the reason that He endured. You are the soul that He died to save. . . Do not become weary, and don't ever give up. The Creator and Sustainer of the universe is on your side. And there is no length to which He will not go to draw you into His arms of love.

Mighty is the power of the cross.