The Journey to the cross

The Message Bible Does a good job of describing Jesus' Journey to the cross. This is a selection I chose from Isaiah 53 (MSG)

• He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
  
  
• One look at him and people would turn away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
  
  
•  But the fact is, it was our pains he carried- our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
•  We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures.
  
  
• But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him- our sins!
  
  
•   He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
  
  
•  Through his bruises we get healed.
  
  
•  We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
  
  
•  We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
  
  
•    And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him.
  
  
•    He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn’t say a word.
  

•   Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence. 

To identify with Christ is to bear his burden. To look inside at our own lives and ask "how am I being selfish?" "How am I being self-centered." 

Jesus told his followers almost two thousand years ago, the way in which we can idenify with Jesus. 

"Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me."- Luke 9:23


I hate verses like this. I sometimes wish I could find some white-out and not think about certain commands from Jesus. But it's there. 

And this verse forces me to trust God. Instead of me putting my faith in myself to be a better person, and trying to advance myself in this world, I have to trust in God. 

The way of self-denial is the way we were created to be. Think of your life. When are you most happy? Is it when things come easily? No. It's when you put others before yourself. When you see others succeed and grow.

When we lay down our lives and trust in God we know that He will work all things for our good. 

It might not be "good" in the way we see it but to be honest sometimes we are more like 3 year old toddlers than we would like to admit. 

Which toddler (or teenager) or anyone wouldn't want to eat a whole package of Oreos? 

Which parent would be insane to give those to their child?

Or would a parent be a good parent if they let their child have unlimited access to the internet? Of course not. Or just a few cigarettes (what could it hurt, right?)


Yet, we look at God when something doesn't go exactly according to our plan and get upset. We think, "God hates me."  or "God let me down."

Could God have something better in store for you? You may not be ready. You might think this is the best thing for you in the moment but it's not. 

Remember, Jesus, tells us to pray to who? Our Father. 

He is a Good Father. 

Jesus went to the cross. And it seemed like the end. 

Think about Mary, his mother. She was promised that her son would be the Messiah. But now? He is on the cross. I wonder what was going in her mind. Fear? Doubt? Grief? Depression? Who knows?

Jesus died on Friday and rose on Sunday. 3 days. A long long three days for those closest to Jesus. We know the story, we know he rose again. But they missed it. 

And sometimes we do too. We see our struggle. We see our pain. We see our disappointment. 

Good Friday can last a long time. Yet God is there with us through it all. 

And he says, "When you get to the other side of this, you are going to be happy that you had to go through it because you are stronger now."

But this becoming stronger in the kingdom of God does not come by trying and persisting. It comes by surrendering. By laying down our lives so God can work through us. This isn't a popular way of saying it in 21st Century Western Culture but by "Dying." 

Jesus, who was and is God, had to physically say, "Not my will, but yours be done." We, who are not God, need to echo this same phrase.So when days are shinning and bright, we can praise God for his goodness. And when days feel like hell, we can praise God because we know He is on the move. And we know Sunday is just around the corner.

Happy Holy Week everyone!

Remember, you are loved!