Women in the Word

The Passion of Christ {Luke 22}

12:00 AM

Please read Luke 22

Have you ever truly wondered what the “Passion of Christ” really is? If you were like me, you grew up and lived your parent’s faith and didn’t truly grasp the enormity of Lent, Holy Week and Easter.

As a young adult, I recall standing during Palm Sunday and listening to “The Passion” being read. Palm Sunday became so incredibly significant to me that day. It occurred to me that I nail Christ to the cross!

This year, I seemed to withdraw a bit more during Lent and became silent and reflective as I wanted to better understand “The Passion of Christ”.

St. Augustine said, “A single tear shed at the remembrance of the Passion of Jesus is worth more than a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or a year of fasting on bread and water.”

A good way to connect with Christ’s Passion during this time of year is to begin by focusing on the empathy we have for the people we know best. Christ was torn away from family and friends in the prime of life to be unjustly executed. If this were to happen to someone in our circle, it would leave us reeling!

Now, consider that Christ laid down His life in order to connect with us in our suffering. This can be very difficult to comprehend, but simultaneously Christ loved ALL of mankind and each one of us individually so as to become the best friend we could possibly have.

On Good Friday, as I read Psalm 145-147, I could not help but feel the connection to Jesus. Tears streamed down my face as I read, “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is trustworthy in ALL He promises and faithful in ALL He does. The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts ups all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.” 145:13-16,

and then, “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of the warrior; the LORD delights in those who fear HIM, who put their hope in HIS unfailing love.” 147:10-11

Have you ever felt the sweetest embrace ever and physically, no one was there? Well, Friday morning I did and I could hardly contain myself.

How should we feel about our best friend being crucified to save us? In that moment, when the world despised our best friend enough to put Him to a brutal death, we would be one of the few who knew how truly good He was and we would be anguished to see Him so misunderstood and mistreated. Would we be sad to lose Him and want to put ourselves in His place?

What Christ accomplished is not something we could accomplish because He was the only One pure enough to offer a sacrifice to God that would redeem the world!

But the perfect nature of Christ’s sacrifice has made it possible for us to unite ourselves to His suffering. Something miraculous happens when we allow our lives to be unified to Christ on the cross.

Have you thought that Christ died for;

Herod

Pontius Pilate

Judas

Saul

Attila the Hun

Adolf Hitler

Joseph Stalin

The girls you have always thought were laughing at you

The boss who fired you

The boss who keeps insisting you do the one task you know is wrong

The teacher or coach who is unfair to your child/grandchild

The driver who just cut you off

The clerk who was extremely rude

Your best friend who simply doesn’t understand your faith and mocks you

Your wayward child

One of the most miraculous revelations we have ever received is when Jesus cried “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Those words go on and echo the profound truths revealed to us in the moment of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice.

Just because we’ve celebrated Easter, let us not forget the Passion of Christ. Remember the amazing life He lived and all He gave up. Weep for His loss, offer up your own sufferings with His perfect sacrifice, forgive those who have wronged you, and you will experience the miraculous power of God’s love.

Crucifixion

Crucify Him! {Matthew 27}

1:00 AM

Monday April 22

Matthew 27

The word passion comes from the Latin root word, “pati” which means to endure, or to suffer. A most fitting word to describe the last days of Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane to His Crucifixion. In this short amount of time, (called the Passion of Christ), Jesus suffered like no other. He endured grief, betrayal, abandonment, arrest, trial, mocking, beatings, and being nailed to a Cross of wood. He did so obediently, willingly, and lovingly. He did it for you, and for me. And when I reflect on the enormity of the sacrifice of the Messiah, I am forever awed, humbled, and thankful. But beyond that it makes me ask myself, “Am I as passionate for Jesus as Jesus is for me? In love and gratitude do I walk as He teaches, and follow His example?”

The grief and anguish Jesus experienced in the garden was beyond measure. The full weight of the burden of sin He was about to bear was upon Him. His soul was, “deeply grieved, to the point of death.” (Matt. 26:38) Yet even knowing all He was going to endure, Christ still walked in perfect obedience to God saying, “Your will be done.” (Matt. 26:42) During my times of sorrow do the tears of my Savior motivate my heart to trust completely in God and despite the pain put His will above my own?

Betrayed, falsely arrested, and tortured, the Lord was made to stand before a crowd who mere days ago were joyful at His coming yet who now shouted, “Crucify Him!” (vs. 27:22) The sadness of Jesus’ heart must have been overwhelming. And even though at any time He could have proven that He was indeed the Son of God and made His accusers fall at His knees, He remained silent not answering even a “single charge” (vs. 27:14) When persecution strikes, and my enemies surround me do I cry out for retribution, or does the silent suffering Jesus endured keep my tongue still and my eyes on God?

Hanging from a Cross, nails in His hands and feet, with a crown of thorns upon His head, the physical pain Jesus experienced was excruciating. For six hours He hung in pure agony crying out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (vs. 27:46) before finally “yielding up His spirit”. If He so chose, Jesus could have gotten down from that Cross and saved Himself. He could have ended His torment and walked away from His tormentors. Instead He humbled Himself, sacrificed Himself, and shed His precious blood to give us life. To honor His precious offering, when I give to others am I doing it out of a sense of obligation or do I give joyfully, wholeheartedly, and most importantly, sacrificially?

Jesus has it all. Sitting on His glorious throne at the right hand of the Father, He is Lord of lords, King of kings. He wants for nothing, nor needs anything we could possibly give. We are but dust before Him, and yet our Lord, the Creator of the universe, suffered unimaginable horrors to call us His own. He gave up everything, to give us everything. And as another Easter passes and the celebrations end, I pray that my heart remains overflowing with as much love and thankfulness every day as it is on Resurrection day.