We have thought of the pain that Jesus carried to the cross. We have thought of his suffering. We have thought of a sacrifice willingly made for us. But as well carrying his pain to the cross, he also carried the hopes of people everywhere.
There were the obvious people – his mother, the disciples and his followers… These are the people we immediately think of – Mary of course never gave up believing in her son – she stayed with him along with Mary, the wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene and John, right to the cross, but many of the disciples did begin to doubt. Who can blame them ? They were afraid – whatever they thought of Jesus, whoever they believed him to be didn’t seem to matter much when his life and ministry were judged by the standards of the world – he was broken. He was defeated. The hopes they had were shattered as Jesus carried them to the cross.
And there were the hopes of many others as well – perhaps those people who had shouted ‘Hosanna’ as Jesus entered Jerusalem a week earlier – many of them may have been shouting ‘Crucify him’ on that first Good Friday, but many of them still surely had hopes of some kind of deliverance, of finding some kind of peace in their lives, of finding the person who would satisfy the need that was within them as they looked for Jesus to be their Saviour less than a week before. He seemed to have been a disappointment – not to have been ‘The one’.
But if these people had looked more closely at their scriptures, perhaps in them they would have found that Jesus really did meet the description of the promised Messiah.
And then, perhaps even Pilate, intrigued by the reaction of his wife who said she had suffered a great deal over Jesus in a dream, may have been watching to see if there really was something more to this man.
These were some of the people who had some sort of hope in Jesus, but in fact though, the people whose hopes he carried were people everywhere – they were and are people of every generation. People who believe that life has some meaning, people who are seeking out someone or something to completely fill their lives.
As we gather here today we know that Jesus carried our hopes to the cross, and achieved a wonderful victory. It was only in death that he could bring new life. It was only in pain and suffering that he could ever really come close to showing us the love that he has for us.
Today there are people who are hoping for something in life – who are searching for meaning, who believe that there is someone or something guiding them, but they don’t know what. They have hopes in a mystery, but that mystery has been revealed in the person of Jesus…
He has shown us the perfect life. He has loved with a love greater than any human love, he has argued for justice, and freed the outcasts from their hideaways. He has healed the sick, fed the hungry, provided hope for those with no hope… He has shown that every life has a meaning, that every person is important, because every person is created in the image of God, and loved by God… And of course he has promised to never leave us – ‘With God all things are possible’ we are told in the Bible, but so often we fail to really believe it.
Today we remember a man who went to the cross willingly for others – people who hated him, people who spat at him, who humiliated him, who abused him, people who mocked him – Jesus went to the cross praying for them…
Jesus didn’t disappoint – he went to the cross to show that death could be conquered. He went to the cross to take away our sins. He went to the cross to show his love. Jesus will never disappoint if we trust him…
And what he asks from us is not a perfect life. It is not a command to go and find someone or something to die for – he asks simply that we trust him and love him, and tell others about him…
He carried our hopes to the cross because we know the rest of the story. The darkness of Calvary was not going to be the end…
There were the obvious people – his mother, the disciples and his followers… These are the people we immediately think of – Mary of course never gave up believing in her son – she stayed with him along with Mary, the wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene and John, right to the cross, but many of the disciples did begin to doubt. Who can blame them ? They were afraid – whatever they thought of Jesus, whoever they believed him to be didn’t seem to matter much when his life and ministry were judged by the standards of the world – he was broken. He was defeated. The hopes they had were shattered as Jesus carried them to the cross.
And there were the hopes of many others as well – perhaps those people who had shouted ‘Hosanna’ as Jesus entered Jerusalem a week earlier – many of them may have been shouting ‘Crucify him’ on that first Good Friday, but many of them still surely had hopes of some kind of deliverance, of finding some kind of peace in their lives, of finding the person who would satisfy the need that was within them as they looked for Jesus to be their Saviour less than a week before. He seemed to have been a disappointment – not to have been ‘The one’.
But if these people had looked more closely at their scriptures, perhaps in them they would have found that Jesus really did meet the description of the promised Messiah.
And then, perhaps even Pilate, intrigued by the reaction of his wife who said she had suffered a great deal over Jesus in a dream, may have been watching to see if there really was something more to this man.
These were some of the people who had some sort of hope in Jesus, but in fact though, the people whose hopes he carried were people everywhere – they were and are people of every generation. People who believe that life has some meaning, people who are seeking out someone or something to completely fill their lives.
As we gather here today we know that Jesus carried our hopes to the cross, and achieved a wonderful victory. It was only in death that he could bring new life. It was only in pain and suffering that he could ever really come close to showing us the love that he has for us.
Today there are people who are hoping for something in life – who are searching for meaning, who believe that there is someone or something guiding them, but they don’t know what. They have hopes in a mystery, but that mystery has been revealed in the person of Jesus…
He has shown us the perfect life. He has loved with a love greater than any human love, he has argued for justice, and freed the outcasts from their hideaways. He has healed the sick, fed the hungry, provided hope for those with no hope… He has shown that every life has a meaning, that every person is important, because every person is created in the image of God, and loved by God… And of course he has promised to never leave us – ‘With God all things are possible’ we are told in the Bible, but so often we fail to really believe it.
Today we remember a man who went to the cross willingly for others – people who hated him, people who spat at him, who humiliated him, who abused him, people who mocked him – Jesus went to the cross praying for them…
Jesus didn’t disappoint – he went to the cross to show that death could be conquered. He went to the cross to take away our sins. He went to the cross to show his love. Jesus will never disappoint if we trust him…
And what he asks from us is not a perfect life. It is not a command to go and find someone or something to die for – he asks simply that we trust him and love him, and tell others about him…
He carried our hopes to the cross because we know the rest of the story. The darkness of Calvary was not going to be the end…
Comments