WERE YOU THERE
There's a popular song commonly sung on Good Friday called, Were You There? It powerfully asks if "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" They testify that even thinking about the Lord Jesus' suffering and death upon the cross is too much for them and that it causes them to tremble.
As I endeavor to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, I am hungering to grow more intimate with Christ's work upon the cross. I want to lay hold of the work accomplished upon the cross because it's where we deeply encounter the work of God's love covenant. Said another way, the more intimately we encounter the cross, the more intimately we encounter the power and love of God. The more intimately we encounter the power and love of God, the greater our faith shall be and the more victorious we shall be.
Paul the apostle wrote the Church in the city of Corinth, saying,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.' Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18–24, NKJV)
Yes, the message of the cross may be foolishness to those who don't believe, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God! "Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God."(See 1 Corinthians 1:24).
All those who desire to become strong in Christ must become intimate with the cross. This doesn't just mean being knowledgeable about information related to the cross. It's more than doctrine. It's more than philosophy. It's more than a religious idea. It's blood. Yes, the cross is where everything gets real. So real that many are afraid to peer into its realities. Why? Because encountering the reality of the cross will change you. It won't just make you feel differently, but it will cause you to see the love of God so clearly that you will leave sin and follow Jesus with all of your heart!
I wonder what would happen if we were there. If we actually witnessed the torture on Jesus' face. His lungs so expanded that He struggled to get another breath into His lungs. I wonder what would happen to us if we stood in the presence of His flesh that was marred more than any other man. (See Isaiah 52:14) What would happen if we saw the blood? The blood that covered his face, chest, stomach, arms, legs, his whole body. Would we walk away indifferently? I think not. Like the Roman soldier who was there, I think we would say, "...Truly this Man was the Son of God!" (Mark 15:39)
It's this encounter we desperately need. We worship God in fancy buildings with comfortable chairs, yet we must encounter the brutality and unrelenting suffering of the cross at Calvary. We must all encounter it as if we were there. Now, you may be asking how we can go back in time. The answer is simply--the Holy Spirit. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus and His truth. (See Luke 12:12, John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:13) The Holy Spirit will reveal the Lamb of God crucified upon the cross, and we must no longer look away!
As you read and meditate upon the scriptures during this last week of consecration leading up to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, allow the Holy Spirit to bring you closer to the realities of Jesus' suffering upon the cross than ever before. It will be life-changing. So life-changing that others will see the change in your life. They may even ask, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"
Listen to Were you There? HERE
About Pastor Steve Hannett
About Steve Hannett | Gospel Mission Network