Forgiven

CO-AUTHORED WITH KAYLA: MY 12 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER

 I stood in the crowd waiting to see what everyone was keenly watching. Then, he appeared riding on a donkey. Once everyone saw him, there was an uproar. It wasn’t an upset uproar but one of joy. However, the Pharisees lurked in the shade disgusted by the scene. People grabbed branches and broke them off the trees. They then waved them around wildly praising the one on the donkey. He didn’t look like someone from a wealthy family or an important figure, but he was calm and gentle. People shouted, “Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest!” Everyone was singing and dancing. It was as if the mood spread, like a plague, covering the entrance of the city. I couldn’t help but join in on the fun. 

“It is finished!”

Then on Friday, the same people who were shouting praise to this figure were now against him in large crowds, before the council. He looked different, but his expression did not change, still calm and gentle. He was bruised and beaten horrendously. He looked like he was hanging on life by a thread. A man so innocent and pure was being treated like a dirty criminal. 

Pilate, the governor, saw this man’s innocence and took a shot at persuading the crowd to let him go. He was required to release a criminal as it was the custom on Passover. He gave them a choice; the innocent man or Barabbas. However, the crowd pressed on, pressuring Pilate to sentence him to the death that was originally planned for that brutal murderer. After another beating, this kind man was forced to carry a cross up to Golgotha and take on the sins of everyone past, present, and future. This man faced torment worse than death—the wrath of God. 

 After the sixth hour, the sun was hidden in the thick gray clouds. Darkness covered the earth. His mother, who was watching it all, wept terribly. He told the man standing next to his mother, to take good care of her. Once he took his last breath and his heart had beat its last, he cried out with a bold voice, “It is finished!.” A large earthquake shook the hill, startling everyone who witnessed this.

The crowd disbanded and he was taken down from the cross to be buried in Joseph’s tomb; where no one else had laid before. When the commotion had settled and three days had passed, word came out that his body had disappeared. Some people said that the disciples stole his body from the tomb. However, that was what the council wanted them to believe. The reality of it all was that Jesus, the innocent man, had risen and conquered death. 

“Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest!”

 This was a first-hand account of the events that happened through the week of Palm Sunday and Good Friday. It was based on Isaiah 53, the prophecy of Jesus’ death. While you read this, I hope you imagined yourself in the story. When I wrote this for a school assignment, it gave me chills. Just knowing that he went through so much pain just for us, left me in awe. It made me feel more grateful for his death and resurrection. 

Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Matthew 27:42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.”

When I read these verses it became clear to me that he didn’t have to die for us. He could’ve done it another way. It also showed me that He could’ve come down from the cross, if it was too much for Him to handle. However, Jesus shows us and everyone who watched Him suffer that sin must be dealt with severely. There’s no other way around it. Even though He was suffering, and even though it was too much for Him to handle, He still chose to finish the job, because He loved us. He was the ultimate role model for humility and perseverance. 

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

This verse is part of the prophecy. The first part of it is what I want to focus on. This Scripture tells us that it was God’s will for Jesus to suffer. It was His will to put His Son through pain that we cannot imagine. It was God’s will the whole time, to save us from our sin and break the shackles around our feet. It was His plan to free us from bondage and for that, we are grateful.  

This Easter, I want you to know that we didn’t deserve what we were given. We didn’t earn what we got. However, God is a Merciful God and gave us a second chance through Salvation; because it was His plan from the start. I want to close out with this: Are you sincerely grateful for His sacrifice and do you accept His salvation? 

Happy Easter!