Every year in this season, I enjoy remembering what Christ did for us when He died on the cross.
And every year, the Lord gives me something new to think about. This year has been the same.
This year, I love that Passover coincided with the holiday when Christ rose from the grave.
Resurrection Day is what I like to call it now. It is called the holiday of “first fruits” in the Bible.
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
1 Corinthians 15:20
First fruits - a guarantee of a much larger harvest to come! Hallelujah!
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| Yellow and Orange “Lantana” Flowers |
This year, a verse from the Gospel of John stuck with me.
“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
John 1:29
Such a simple verse, yet so profound. John knew exactly who Jesus was.
Jesus is the Lamb of God, our Passover Lamb, God’s perfect sacrifice for us just as 1 Corinthians 5:7 says:
“For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.”
I love to remember and celebrate these things. On the night of Passover, I took time to remember our dear Savior’s great sacrifice for us on the cross.
The unleavened bread and grape juice reminded me of the body and shed blood of our Savior. The parsley (bitter herbs) reminded me of the bitter slavery of sin.
Christ has redeemed us with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm! (Deuteronomy 26:8) Hallelujah!
A delightful, orange scented candle, along with white, heavenly scented blossoms from branches of the tree outside my bedroom adorned my dresser that night.
I read out loud from Exodus 12 and 13 along with portions of the Gospels, particularly Luke 22, when Christ celebrated the Passover with His disciples the night before He was crucified.
It was a special night; it is always so special to remember.
I thought about Christ’s sacrifice for us all week long. I cannot grasp the enormous mental and physical anguish Christ went through for us. Knowing He would die the very next day, Christ was in such mental anguish the night before. The Bible writer said He sweat great drops of blood. (Luke 22:44) I can hardly fathom such anguish.
I can only imagine the enormous physical pain and agony Christ endured as He hung on the cross, not to mention being separated from His Heavenly Father. Many Bible scholars believe that Christ died from a broken heart because of such mental and emotional anguish.
Hanging on a cross, a cruel method used by the Romans to execute criminals, could last for days while criminals died a slow, painful death. To die like Christ did in just 6 hours was not common.
I’ve heard that the blood and water that flowed from Christ’s side was medical evidence of a broken heart.
The blood that flowed from Christ’s side is what purchased our salvation.
The old hymn, Rock of Ages, says it so well:
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.”
In the sacrificial system that God put into place, the animal had to be dead before its blood could be collected and poured upon the altar.
It was the exact same way with the blood of Christ. Jesus had to be dead before His blood could be applied to the mercy seat. The water that flowed from Christ’s side with His blood was proof that He was dead.
Hallelujah for the blood!
The apostle John wrote about the blood and the water that flowed from Christ’s side after being pierced.
John, in his account of the Gospel, wrote that He literally witnessed that himself. He saw it!
“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.”
John 19:34-35
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| Red and Orange Lantanas |
I have been to the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, Israel where, I believe, this event took place.
Naturally, I try to picture it all in my mind there. I don’t know what that garden looked like in Christ’s time, but John states very clearly in his account that Jesus was crucified in a garden.
“Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden…”
John 19:41
To me, that is kind of significant. Where did Adam and Eve first disobey God?
In a garden.
Where was mankind redeemed back to God?
In a garden.
I don’t think that is coincidence. I tend to think God planned that.
Today, there are many Lantana flowers growing throughout the Garden Tomb area - and close to where Christ was crucified. I associate those flowers now with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Those flowers grow in many other places of the world too. They are abundant in Santa Barbara, California where I grew up for 6 years of my life. I always loved those flowers. Now I love them even more. God created that flower in many colors.
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| Pink and Yellow Lantanas |
This week, my mind naturally went to the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. I thought about Jesus hanging in agony on a rough, wooden cross there.
I thought about the crowds of people that would have been there for that Passover holiday. I thought about those crowds of people standing near the cross to watch the crucifixion.
In writing about the night before, when Christ was taken away to the high priest to stand before him, Matthew, one of Jesus disciples, wrote:
“…Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.”
Matthew 26:56
Mark, another disciple of Jesus, says the same thing in his account. Mark puts it very simply.
“And they all forsook him, and fled.”
Mark 14:50
Can you imagine?
Christ was taken away to be tried and sentenced to death, and all his friends forsook Him and fled!
If I was Matthew or Mark, writing that down would make me cringe a little with embarrassment - knowing that included them!
Who was there at the cross when Jesus died?
Besides the crowds of people there, John writes exactly who was there.
In John 19:25, he wrote:
“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.”
Jesus mother Mary was there, along with Mary’s sister (also named Mary it looks like?) and Mary Magdalene. If I understand correctly, three Mary’s were at the cross. Mary must have been a very popular name then.
In the next verse, John refers to himself as the disciple “whom He loved”. John was also there at the cross.
“When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!”
John 19:26
They all forsook Him. They fled.
Why?
The other disciples were probably scared to be there at the crucifixion. They were likely afraid to be associated with Jesus because of what might happen to them. They may have stood a long distance away.
But John? He didn’t care. John didn’t care what others thought or what might happen to him.
John was willing to go all the way with Jesus, even to the cross. That brings tears to my eyes.
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| White and Yellow Lantanas |
I grew up singing a well known chorus that repeats a lot. The first verse says:
“I have decided to follow Jesus.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
I have decided to follow Jesus.
No turning back.
No turning back.”
One of the verses of that song says:
“Though none go with me, still I will follow.”
That line of the song fits the apostle John well. He was the only one of the 12 disciples there.
That thought about John going all the way with Jesus, even to the cross, could inspire an amazing devotional or an entire message.
John was the only disciple who was directly at the cross. Now I understand why the Lord Jesus gave the care of his mother into John’s care.
I remember, years ago, wondering why the Lord chose John to take care of His mother. Why not Matthew or Mark? Or Luke? Why John?
Wouldn’t that make the other disciples wonder why Jesus chose John. Now I understand why.
John was the only one there.
The next verse in that chapter says:
“Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”
John 19:27
In remembering Christ’s death and sacrifice for us this past week, I thought about many things.
What did I think about the most?
I thought about verses from John 19 (above) when the Lord gave His mother into John’s care.
The Lord Jesus was hanging on a tree in agonizing pain, and yet, He wanted to make sure that His mother was cared for. That is what I call self-less.
Jesus was thinking about His mother even as He was dying. Obviously, Joseph, Mary’s husband, had passed away, otherwise Jesus would not have had to give his mother into John’s care.
Jesus mother Mary was clearly now a widow, and she was not expected to provide for herself. Mary was to be taken care of and provided for. Jesus cared about that, even while hanging on a cross.
That is something I had not thought much about before, and it ministered to my heart deeply.
When someone is dying, they will usually talk about what matters most to them. It mattered a lot to the Lord Jesus that His mother would be taken care of.
I recently wrote a blog post about home and family which can be read here. In that post, I shared that, according to the Word of God, men are to provide for their family. That is Biblical. (1 Timothy 5:8)
Sadly, many people today, including Christians, don’t care what the Bible says. Many women today are not being taken care of and provided for by their father, husband, or the body of Christ.
Instead, women (single, married, widowed, etc.) are working like men. That is not Biblical.
Some women do not want to be in the work force, but they have no choice because they are not being provided for by the men in their family.
By God’s design, women are to be taken care of and provided for. And the Lord Jesus cared about that very thing, even while hanging on a cross. The Lord Jesus is a true gentleman.
That was something special from God this week. God cares about women being taken care of and provided for by men.
God’s design is precious and beautiful, and our Lord displayed that beautifully even while dying on a cross.
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| White and Yellow Lantanas |
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