“When they came to Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments…[and] sat down and kept watch over him there… Those who passed by derided him… The chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him…
“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?..’ And Jesus cried out again… and yielded up his spirit.
“The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. Many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised… When the centurion and those with him… saw what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!'”
“Toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb… The angel said, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said… And behold, Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’” Matthew 27:35,37,39,41,45-46,51-52,54; 28:1,5-6,9
Dreaded doom turned to darkness, drear grown desperate as the hours stretched. What horror. Hope had been swallowed up in confusion, shock, now sorrow. What was it He had said? The Passover Lamb would take away the sin of the world? The agonies of the last day were too heavy, too hard to untangle. But the song…. (John 1:29)
“See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?” ~Isaac Watts (1707)
The man of sorrows, foretold, crucified, and now raised! The Word made flesh, every word come to pass. The music of life returns.
“Man of sorrows what a name
for the Son of God, who came
ruined sinners to reclaim:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
in my place condemned he stood,
sealed my pardon with his blood:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Guilty, vile and helpless we;
spotless Lamb of God was he,
full atonement, can it be?
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Lifted up was he to die;
‘It is finished’ was his cry;
now in heaven exalted high:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!” ~Phillip Bliss (1865)
What impulse, habit, burden can we affix to the cross to see it crushed, finished, so we can rise anew? Pardoned! Cleaned! Ruin made whole! (Isaiah 53:3-7; John 1:14)
Lo! Jesus meets us. Risen from the tomb,
lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom.
Let our doubting spirits find a voice to sing:
Christ who died is living; death has lost its sting.
Thine was the suff’ring, mine the endless life.
Sin holds no dominion; love wins over strife.
What then shall I shall I offer? Songs that never cease!
Thou hast won the vict’ry, glorious Prince of Peace!
Thine be the glory, Risen, conquering Son!
Endless is the victr’y, Thou o’er death hath won!” ~Edmond Budry (1904)
O sacred head, be now My Head, and lead forward in newness of life!
As the rain and snow 