Things will never be the same again.
We had so many
successes. Everything went according to
plan. Even when that fool Pilate tried
to release him we were able to get the mob to call out for the criminal,
Barabbas. Barabbas was a problem for us
but better him than the carpenter’s son.
We got the crowd riled up and on the verge of a riot before Pilate gave
in.
Things will never be the
same again.
A lot of us decided to
make the hike out to Golgotha to celebrate our victory. We had been working so long for this result
that we didn’t want to miss the culmination of our efforts. The Galilean was in such bad shape that they
made some poor pilgrim carry his cross.
Some of us weren’t sure he would even make it to the place of
crucifixion.
Things will never be the
same again.
When the centurion and
his soldiers finally had him nailed to the cross there was a real sense of
relief. We weren’t happy about the “King
of the Jews” sign they hung over his head but I thought it was better to fight
the battles we could win. Some of us were
practically giddy. They were shouting
things at him and mocking him. Things
like, “Hey, Son of God, come down off the cross!” “You promised to save people but you couldn’t
even save yourself!” “If you come down
we will believe in you!” They were
practically elbowing each other in the ribs in laughter.
Things will never be the
same again.
That’s when it
happened. All of a sudden, around noon,
the sun just disappeared. It was blacker
than night and I have to admit, I had chills running up and down my spine. It was eerie.
I had a feeling like I never had before.
The darkness wouldn’t go away. It
lasted for hours. There was something
supernatural about it.
Things will never be the
same again.
The rabbi called out for
Elijah and then it looked like he just…died!
The ground beneath our feet started to rumble and shake violently. I never felt anything like it in my
life. The rocks were tearing apart. The very ground upon which I lived my entire
life seemed to come alive in anger.
Things will never be the
same again.
That’s when I noticed the
centurion. He was kind of a
scary-looking guy. Grizzled. Tough.
Battle-hardened. I had tried to
stay out of his way all day. But there
he was, standing at the foot of the cross with a look of wonder on his
face. It was like everything around him
had disappeared and he was transfixed. I
was close enough to hear him say, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Things will never be the
same again.
Finally the sun came out
again and we all hurried home to get ready for Sabbath. The next couple of days were
discomforting. I wasn’t myself. It was like there was a thought in the back
of my head that wouldn’t reveal itself.
On the first day of the week I was with the chief priests when the guards
who had been out at the tomb came rushing in.
They were terrified. They had
been at the tomb when the second earthquake hit this morning. All they could remember was the appearance of
a bright and glorious person. When they
woke up the tomb was open and the dead man was gone. We bribed the soldiers to lie about what
happened. I went home feeling sick. My heart was pounding and my head ached. All I could think about were the words of the
centurion, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
I drank some wine and lay down but nothing helped.
Things will never be the
same again.
WOW!
ReplyDeleteCan you imagineWhat if hell is actually terror of regrets.
And what if God's goodness is what purifies everything.