As we hear the mournful tune and poignant lyrics of Isaac Watt’s hymn, When I survey the wondrous cross’, ‘Good’, as an adjective to mark the day we believe the suffering happened, is not one that immediately springs to mind.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride
What exactly is so wondrous about a form of punishment that exacts excruciating pain?
What is so glorious about a promised Messiah, a wonderful man, who ends up dying?
Jesus upon the Cross is a pitiful vision because death by human calculation does not normally rate as a moment of triumph. But as on so many occasions in Jesus’ world, things are often turned upside down and the Cross is one of the greatest examples of this.
To survey or contemplate the crucifixion of Jesus evokes a response.
The passers-by, the thieves on the other crosses and the religious leaders’ response was to mock this King of the Jews saying ‘He saved others, but He can’t save Himself’(Matt. 27:39-44).
Most of Jesus’s followers had already responded by fleeing in fear.
Jesus’ response to the excruciating physical and psychological agony, was amazing -
‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34).
See from His head His hands His feet
Sorrow and Love flow mingled down
Did ‘er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel gives us a clue about a recurring need for a saviour (Ezek. 22:30).
‘So, I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it but I found none’.
That is, until centuries later, God Himself bridged the abyss in merging the Divine with the Mortal in Immanuel. That day was when the Good Shepherd became John the Baptizer’s ‘Lamb of God’, and Revelation’s ‘Lamb slain before the foundations of the world’. The humiliation and rejection of the manner of Jesus’ death, may have seemed like a slap in the face of God who had ‘sent Christ into the world not to condemn but that all should be saved’ (John 3:17).
But the Creator’s plan was to come to the rescue of His creation marred by sin. The Apostle Paul explains Salvation like this ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself’ (2 Cor.5:19). Jesus spoke of the significance of his impending death at the Passover meal thus:
‘Then he took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them saying,
This is my body broken for you DO THIS in remembrance of me.
Likewise, also He took the cup, after supper saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you (Luke 22:19-20).
The instigation (DO THIS) of the sacrament of Holy Communion reminds us that ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone; but if it dies it produces much grain’ (John 12:24). ‘For as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so shall the son of man be lifted up. So that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him (John 3:14-15). It seems Jesus’ death was the necessary precursor to the end of Death’s power.
Whatever understanding we may have of the significance of Jesus’ Life, Death, Resurrection and Ascension, these are all key events with cosmic proportions.
Awaiting his sentence after the trial we read in John 19:10-11:
Pilate: Do you not know that I have power to crucify you and power to release you?
Jesus : You could have no power at all against ME unless it had been given you from above.
Thought for the day - Why did Immanuel allow Himself to be crucified?
My prayer, on this special day of commemoration for Christians around the world, is that as we ponder that question and meditate upon the Cross, we will again be filled with awe and wonder at the mysterious act of mercy, forgiveness and power it represents.
Forbid it Lord that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my God
All the vain things that charm me most
I sacrifice them to His blood.
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing, So Divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Elisabeth Sweeney-Smith
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