The Darkness Came

Luke 23:44-46
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Good Friday is the day we set aside to contemplate the death of Jesus. Over the years, images of that day have been painted to portray the beauty of Christ on the cross; a man who gave all, God in the flesh. What about the ugliness of that day? What about all the sin that swirled around that cross as Jesus hung there to die an excruciating death?

Jesus chose to hang on a cross for people he had never met, people like us. As he hung on the cross, the Holy Spirit did not repeat to him his sins, he had none. Instead he heard the sins of everyone else; Father forgive the cheating, gossiping, murder, adultery, lying, drunkenness, and on and on the list cried out. But Christ took them on, all of them. He loves us that much. He loves us enough that he created a path for us to God. He paved a way to heaven. He gave us hope.

As Easter approaches where are you? Are you at the foot of the cross, or on a far away hill watching from a distance?