The Hands that was Nailed

I cannot but imagine the scene of the cross in my mind. Over and over again I have tried to relive this whole scenario of what Jesus did for me by trying to put myself in His shoes but still cannot find closure with it. For God in the form of a man to suffer such humiliation and brutality from His own subjects is humbling to me. Never in my entire life have I been taught humility. Never in my wildest expectations have I been shown what it means to submit. To submit to a people and a course one has made and possesses the ability to overturn.

As I meditate on this issue of the cross and the hands that was nailed I came to the conclusion that there is only one factor that could actually motivate a person with all the ability and influence of this earth to give himself up to be humiliated and nailed to the same wood he fashioned, by a people He created. And this factor is LOVE.

He was wrongfully accused, but refused to contest the legality of the accusation laid upon Him because He loved me too much to allow me to pay for them. He knew very well that for Him to be acquitted, I need to be ready to pay for the offense I have inherited through the sin of the first man and woman who once lived. As there is a need for a scapegoat for the offense to be settled; He was mocked, spat on but yet refused to lift His hands to protest His innocence. Again this He endured because He loved me. He was stripped of His garments and was crowned with a crown of thorns all because of His decision to love me. He was nailed on the cross and was left for death and still didn’t blink an eye, because He had chosen to love me in spite of all this. What a way to define love, and what a way to prove to me He truly loves me.

As we celebrate Easter, we need to realize that without Easter, the Christian faith will not be any different from any other religion such as Islam, Buddhist, Rosicrucian, atheist, etc.

As a matter of truth the Christian faith only came into existence after this great sacrifice of love wrath by God himself in the person of Jesus Christ. This is why it will be ignorant for anyone to believe that Jesus was a Christian. He was and still not a Christian, but on the contrary the Son, follower and Lover of God. He is God.

I don't know about you, but as I recall His journey and accomplishment to and from the cross I realize accepting Him as my Lord and as my Savior has placed on me a demand to forego certain rights and privileges every ordinary human believes they are entitled to. And some of these rights and privileges are as follows.

The right to offense;
As someone who has truly made Jesus Lord, you have forfeited your right to take offence. Forfeiting ones right to take offence is not a guarantee that offence will not come knocking. As a matter of truth it’s impossible not to be offended, but always know that you do not have the legal right according to Jesus' expectation of us to take it when it does come. If He took offence;, Peter and the other disciples who denied and abandoned Him during His trying time would have had no place in propagating His gospel after His resurrection. If He took offence, the men and women who allowed themselves to be persuaded by the leaders of the synagogue and elders of the ruling council would have no possibility of making heaven as He would have closed the door of salvation against them. What about the soldiers who ridiculed Him, spat on Him and casted lots for His garment. And not to mention the ones who nailed Him to the cross. The list could go on until it included me and you who although may not have been in support of His crucifixion but yet refused to stand up for Him by just keeping quiet while evil prevails in our very society.


The right to forgive;
This right here is a very big issue within the Christian community. Perhaps it’s so because most of us are yet to truly comprehend what it means to forgive. I have encountered some acclaimed believers who struggle to forgive. Others have even sworn to settle for hell if not forgiving a particular individual will cost them eternity in heaven with Jesus. But the reality remains that as Christians we do not have the right not to forgive any one, in spite of what they have done to us. If Jesus could forgive after what He went through then it’s not a mistake that God himself tied our receiving forgiveness from Him to our ability to forgive others. There are so many good Christians who will never make it to heaven because of unforgiveness.

As you celebrate this great gift of forgiveness that has brought about salvation I want  to encourage you to do likewise to everyone that has offended you, even to the point of killing your relative. If Jesus could do it then you can do it too. Remember he said that greater works shall you do.

God bless you and have a wonderful Easter celebration.