I have imagined the reactions and thought processes of those people involved in the Good Friday and Easter narrative.
I hope that it will assist you to meditate on these events with fresh thoughts.
There’s
a real stench around here, that’s not helped by placing us on crosses on the
rubbish tip. We can smell the sweat from our bodies that come from the exertion
from the beatings we have received and the ferocious heat of the day. Our
nostrils can also detect the odour of our urine and faeces which were the
result of the extreme fear we have and because we were not allowed to use
proper facilities, so it has remained on our clothes.
The
flies buzz around us, attracted by the sweat and by the drying blood that cakes
our bodies. With our arms and hands so securely attached by nails to the wooden
structures, there is nothing we can do to get rid of these pests.
We
cannot breathe properly as we must lift our bodies up which, in turn, causes
pain in our legs and arms as the nails rip through our flesh, muscles and
bones.
And
yet, it is strange that in the middle of us two, there is One who does not
curse, damn those who put Him in this position or call out about the injustice
of being caught.
Instead,
He speaks of one of His disciples looking after His mother and forgiving those
who put Him there for they do not know what they do.
We
know exactly why we are there because of the heinous crimes that we have
committed, but this Man has not done anything wrong except to preach that He
brings in God’s kingdom of love and peace.
Despite
observing the differing attitude of Jesus of Nazareth, one of us carries on
cursing the situation and demanding that Jesus should save us from the cross.
He wants the freedom to carry on with his life as though nothing has changed –
a second chance to be with his family and friends, a second chance to carry on
with his life of crime.
However,
the other one has a realisation that he deserves the punishment that he is
getting and asks Jesus to remember Him when He comes into His kingdom. Jesus
responds by telling Him that the criminal will be with Him today in Paradise, a
picture of a garden away from the fetid situation that they were experiencing
then.
Shortly
afterwards, with His last pained breath with a final effort, Jesus cried out in
triumph: ‘It is finished!’ It was a declaration that His planned work was
completed.
One
of the criminals will subsequently die with curses still on his breath and
blaming all for everything that had gone wrong. The other criminal knows that
he was rightly found guilty, but the eternal price had been paid by the One who
died next to him.
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