A Crucifixion Narative

Some may have heard this before, but it is well worth its 22 minutes. Especially this weekend, as our calendars call us to pay a little closer attention to the magnitude of the Cross. May God richly bless your Good Friday / Easter weekend. And may we rejoice over what Jesus has accomplished at the Father's hand by the Spirit's power so that we might stand forgiven, cleansed, remade and alive.

Here are two excerpts:

"In that moment Jesus hears his own word of power: the word of power that holds the merciful centurion in existence, the word of power that causes the hammer to be. He’s speaking it all into being: the soldiers, the priests, the thieves, the friends, the mothers, the brothers, the mob, the wooden beams, the spikes, the thorns, the ground beneath him, and the dark clouds gathering above. If he ceases to speak they will all cease to be. But he wills that they remain. So the soldiers live on, and the hammers come crashing down."

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"(Jesus) downs every drop of the scalding liquid of God’s own hatred of sin mingled with his white-hot wrath against that sin. This is the Father’s cup: omnipotent hatred and anger for the sins of every generation past, present, and future—omnipotent wrath directed at one naked man hanging on a cross.  

The Father can no longer look at his beloved Son, his heart’s treasure, the mirror-image of himself. He looks away.  

Jesus pushes himself upward and howls to heaven, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'

Silence."

To God Alone be the Glory

A Crucifixion Narrative - link 1

A Crucifixion Narrative - link 2

(these are the same message in two different locations)

In The Night

For Good Friday and Easter Sunday, this song by Andrew Peterson captures the breadth of what the Father, Son and Spirit accomplished and the joy that reality should emblazon in our souls. SDG


In The Night - Andrew Peterson

I am weary with the pain of Jacob's wrestling
In the darkness with the fear, in the darkness with the fear
But he met the morning wounded with a blessing
So in the night, my hope lives on

And when Elisha woke surrounded by the forces
Of the enemies of God, the enemies of God
He saw the hills aflame with angels on their horses
So in the night, my hope lives on

I see the slave that toils beneath the yoke unyielding
And I can hear the captive groan, hear the captive groan
For some hand to stay the whip his foe is wielding
Still in the night, my hope lives on

I see the armies of the enemy approaching
And the people driven, trembling, to the shore
But a doorway through the waters now is opening
So in the night, my hope lives on

Like the son who thought he'd gone beyond forgiveness
Too ashamed to lift his head--but if he could lift his head
He would see his father running from a distance
In the night, my hope lives on

And I can see the crowd of men retreating
As he stands between the woman and their stones
And if mercy in his holy heart is beating
Then in the night, my hope lives on

Well, I remember how they scorned the son of Mary
He was gentle as a lamb, gentle as a lamb
He was beaten, He was crucified, and buried
And in the night, my hope was gone

But the rulers of earth could not control Him
No, they did not take His life--He laid it down
All the chains of death could never hope to hold Him
So in the night, my hope lives on

And I can see the Son of Man descending
And the sword He swings is brighter than the dawn
And the gates of Hell will never stand against Him
So in the night my hope lives on