Behold the Saviour, you sinner…………
For your sake was he crucified…………..
‘So marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals’ ( Isaiah 52:14)
Our Saviour lies on the cross- his deathbed- so marred that he didn’t look like a human being. Isaiah prophesied seven centuries ago that others would hide their faces from him.
‘By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people
( Isaiah 53:8). Forget about his generation. After another twenty centuries how many among us believe that our sins are the cause of Christ’s passion? The cornerstone of Christian faith is the realisation that Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross as an offering for our sins.
The ultimate truth is nothing but our God hanging on the cross. There is no truth beyond it. That was why Pilate didn’t get any reply to his question. “What is truth?” Even after seeing the TRUTH face to face, if somebody asks’ what is truth’, should he expect any answer?
We believe that he was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. We believe that the punishment upon him made us whole and by his bruises we are healed. He suffered in his flesh for us. Are we ready to suffer in flesh? Scripture says that one who suffered in flesh has departed from sin. For them living is Christ and dying is gain ( Phili.1:21). Indeed we are going through untold hardships and sufferings in this time of the scourge of COVID19. It is time to pour out our hearts like water before the presence of the Lord and lift our hands to Him for the lives of our children. It is time to arise and cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches( Lamentations 2:19).
We can stay awake for an hour tonight in the presence of the crucified Lord. It may not be possible for us to spread our hands for hours like Jesus. Even if it is for a few minutes, spread our hands as if we are on a cross. And offer that little sacrifice to our Father alongwith the sacrifice of our Lord on the cross. May God our Father, hear our lamentations, have mercy on us and deliver us from this epidemic.
Bible verse to contemplate:
‘Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires ( Gala.5:24)
