Because He Loved Us

There is a true story.

There was once a baby boy. He was born 2000 years ago to a poor family. He grew and lived a sinless life. He had come with one purpose. One that He did not have to fulfill, but one that He chose to. One Passover night He slept little. His stomach churned with knowing, knowing what must be done. He prayed in a garden and the pressure was so great... He sweat blood. He was betrayed by a close follower. He was accused. Sentenced an unfair sentence. Laughed at, mocked. Men spit in His face. His holy face. He was led to a post, stripped of His robe and was beaten. Shards of glass and bone ripped His skin. He breathed in ragged breaths. He whispered, "forgive them", and no one knew why. The blood of the Innocent of the innocent flowed. The gathering laughed and yelled. They beat Him longer than they were allowed. He loved them still and said, "forgive them."

The ones He loved threw him to the ground, hit Him and beat Him as they shoved a crown upon His head. A crown of thorns pierced His head as He grit His teeth. A splintered beam of wood was placed on His stripped flesh. He carried the weight of the world on His back as He climbed the hill. His arms shook from exhaustion. His mind was foggy but He kept whispering, "forgive them." His legs were so weak that He fell to the rocky ground. His scarlet face pounded the dirt. Someone carried the beam as He raised His head. The ones He loved, hammered the beam into the other. They shoved Him onto the cross of wood. His arms were stretched. He cried out as spikes were hammered through His wrists and His feet. They jerked His body hanging on a cross into a hole. He heaved in pain and gasped for air. Suddenly, weight of unmeasurable size fell upon His shoulders that made His physical pain seem small. It squeezed around Him. The darkness of the world fell upon Him. He tried to breath. The weight was beyond overwhelming. He was suddenly, for the first time, separated from His Father. He used the strength of a broken human to beg His Father, "why?"  

The angels of Heaven waited. They were prepared for His command to come to His rescue. They were ready if He had enough. They knew that He could stop it all. His accusers could be hanging on crosses at any moment He wanted. He was not under their control. All of creation waited as this man hung on a tree. The past, present and future relied on this moment. The angels waited, ready and prepared. But the man hung there, heaving for a breath so He could again say, "forgive them."

He lifted His head and said, "it is finished." He died. He died as the world shook with agony. It had been finished. Those below Him were confused by those words.  

He was taken down and laid in a tomb. He was sealed off from the world. He was dead. It was finished. This man was gone like all men who die.

But then... this was not just a man. He broke the chains of death as no feeble man can. He sat up and placed his feet onto the cold stone floor. He was alive. He is alive.

This was a man and was yet was God. The innocent One who allowed Himself to be slaughtered for me. God allowed Himself to be killed for a creation that had turned it's back on Him. He loved those that He could have banished. Before you or I knew we need Him, He knew that we needed Him. He kept the angels of Heaven at bay as suffered utterly alone. He took my evil upon His bloody shoulders and loved me anyway. He arose and still loves me. He didn't have to, but He did. I am not worthy to say His name. But He calls me His Friend. He loves me. He is Jesus, the King of kings. And one day every knee will bow.
  

Happy Easter!