A candle is burning somewhere tonight. It burns to signify a prayer. Or penance. Or the presence of Christ.
Throughout the world, churches burn, too. But unlike a candle, churches are ablaze for an opposite reason. They burn because of hatred of Christianity and the God of love. The true scale of religious violence is unknown, whether it is in Kenya, Turkey, Sudan, China, or France. Countless churches or Christian symbols are vandalized, defecated on, and torched every day. There is a creeping war against everything that symbolizes Christianity whether the attacks are on stone crosses, sacred statues, churches, cemeteries, Bibles, baptismal fonts or the people, themselves. Notre Dame was built in the shape of a cross. That cross was literally burning this week.
Why? Why is there destruction and hostility toward the church? It doesn’t need to puzzle us. When He walked among us, Jesus said, You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Jesus knew what would happen. He experienced it first-hand. Yet the God of love extends His mercy, even to the place of the cross. It is the cross – the battered, controversial, and despised cross – that still stands. Despite hateful intent or destruction or fire. And it is our Savior who died there we remember tonight.
Jesus left the glories of heaven to be born a man and experience the grittiness of a perfect life in an imperfect world. He learned and grew just as everyone must do. But when did He realize His mission would take him to the cross?
Luke 2:49 tells of Jesus’ parents searching for him in Jerusalem. They’d lost him! And when they finally found him, he responded not with tears but with a practical statement: I must be about my Father’s business. By that time, Jesus had read Isaiah’s prophecy: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Was he talking with the teachers at the temple about that? He kept reading. He kept thinking and contemplating. Despite the sad prophecy, He didn’t stop.
Rome was in power during Jesus’ life. When he saw Roman crosses along the road, was he considering His sacrifice then? When he learned carpentry from Joseph did they talk about how mangers and crosses were made?
When Jesus taught about entering through the narrow gate that leads to life and staying off the wide road of destruction did he know? Or when he prayed alone, did he know? Whether He knew exactly what would happen by then or not, we see our Savior continuing to teach, continuing to spend time alone with God.
Clearly Jesus knew trouble would result in even some of the healing he did, because he sometimes instructed those healed to not tell anyone. He wanted to extend his time to call more sinners to repentance. He was on a rescue mission! It was a mission he would not abandon.
But when Jesus told his disciples about the temple being destroyed and raised again in 3 days, He most certainly knew what was coming. He knew of His impending suffering and sacrifice. Yet He didn’t back away from it.
When He set out for Jerusalem, He wasn’t the only one who’d figured it out. Peter tried to talk Him out of it. But Jesus was determined. He had a mission and He would complete it.
By the time what we call Palm Sunday arrived, Jesus rode through what He knew would be fickle crowds of people – praising Him. A day or so later, He allowed Himself to be anointed with expensive perfume at Simon’s house.
Monday was the day Passover lambs were selected, and Monday is when Jesus, the Lamb of God, entered Jerusalem and visited the temple. He drove out all who were buying and selling there; and overturned the cashiers’ tables. He was – so close – to the end. And the desecration of God’s house was disgusting to Him. As it should be to us.
Jewish leaders didn’t like His message. They didn’t like Him. They felt threatened; and though they tried and tried, they found nothing. No crime. They would bring Him down despite that. On Wednesday, Judas conspired to hand Jesus over for 30 pieces of silver. Do you understand what happened? The Savior of the world was betrayed for the price of a slave.
And then it was Thursday. Jesus and His disciples prepared the Passover lamb and ate the Seder meal together. He prayed for them. For unity for them and, yes, for us even all these years later. Then they sang together. How poignant to sing a familiar song one last time.
Jesus came to earth for one reason: to save it. And us. Every. Single. One. He did not run the other way. He did not stop, though it must have been tempting. He put one foot in front of the other, and He fulfilled His awful, terrible, gracious, wonderful mission.
Let’s go there now.
Isaiah 53:5; Images: Pexels.com