Good Friday

You looked Satan in the face and You rose up off Your knees, You walked towards those who would capture You. And You watched as the one You love betrayed with a kiss and those faithful few forgot Your Words and ran away in the face of fear. As You were trialed they looked on, kept their mouths shut until one opened His to deny You, swore He never knew You. And just like that, the pain began, death took its final stand, and because of You, I'll never be the same again.

It's just like Steubenville where those who know the injustice do nothing to stop the injustice and those who can speak don't speak, and those who could see gave up their vision just to keep the peace in their own lives.and then they mocked you, with scourges and whips they ripped at your flesh, blood poured out, and though they didn't know, that was their forgiveness. They treated you like a prisoner although You were the one to free the prisoners. Pilate found no fault in You but he couldn't stand the peer pressure, and so he gave in against all he knew was true. And Herod made a mockery not knowing the power of Calvary. They released a criminal in the place of You, completely blinded to the Truth. In every moment where there was the slightest doubt in their mind, they turned away their eyes, just let go of their minds. When they couldn't handle watching they just turned away, the ones who shouted crucify Him couldn't even bear to stay all while Satan thought he was having his way. And as Your blood hit their faces they wiped it away, not knowing it was the one thing that could cleanse all their stains. They dragged you away like sheep led to the slaughter, and your blood was poured out on the ground like water, and as they mopped it up they had no idea it was the Blood of the Healer. They pressed a crown into your head with thorns that pierced your flesh not knowing You were the only King who could give them true rest. They gave Him a tree filled with the sins of you and me, and they told him to carry it while they jeered and added to the weight of it, and only a week before they were welcoming Him in with the branches of a tree He was now carrying. Satan was wandering through the crowds thinking he had won, seeing they were about to kill the true Son. As Simon of Cyrene tried to carry Your Cross, every time You fell so did He, because no man could bear the weight of that Tree. No one but One, the Son of God who had come. They stripped you naked, left you exposed, and started to gamble over your clothes. Nails pierced your hands and your feet, crucified like you were a piece of meat. Stretched and broken and You're crying out forgive them and Jesus what Grace is this? That You could show mercy when there was no mercy shown, that they killed You while You gave them a Home? As they nailed you in you begged for mercy to be shown, for the Father to forgive them and someday bring them Home. As the criminal beside You mocked and scorned, You forgave him and said today you will be healed, with me in Paradise. Imagine the grace shining in Your Eyes. As You died they could finally see, You were the only One Who could set them free. Darkness filled the sky and evil thought He had won, not knowing that Your reign had only just begun. With Your last breath taken, You defeated Satan, death was beaten, and I found my full healing.