Walk of Life – March 2021 – Day 12 – The C R O S S of Calvary
Omnipotence and Divinity at the Cross
Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. Mathew 27:54
Jesus Christ is God but he was also man. He is Son of God as much as He is the Son of Man. Calvary is probably the most difficult place to be! Have you ever imagined great kings and rulers being subjected to the most cruel of deaths and how their reactions would be? “Who is, who was, and who is to come” – The Lord Jesus Christ. He was there when the foundations of the earth were established, He was there from eternity past and will continue to live for ever and ever! Just imagine Christ in that beautiful heaven with angels to adore Him, in the fellowship of the father, in a place where there is no sin or crying or tears, and then he is given a task…the task of saving mankind.
The King of Kings agrees to be born in a manger to a virgin named Mary in a tiny town in Bethlehem. For 30 years of his life, He was unknown…yet we know He was sinless. He lived a perfect life with no flaw or mistake…with no sin at all. Yet this sinless Son became sin for us. The centurion in this verse probably was watching the Lord Jesus all through. He was an influential citizen and probably followed Christ closely…in the sense that he followed his whereabouts or the life he lived closely. As he saw Christ being led to the cross, being shamed, being beaten, bruised, and wounded, the response of this man made the centurion think again. He stood there hearing Christ’s words on the cross. He witnessed the three hour darkness, he saw the earthquake and as he saw a man hanging on that cross, from his innermost being he acknowledged, truly he must be the Son of God. There was something surely different about this man. He seemed divine…his response seemed divine. The response of the divine also seemed totally out of the world. It was the most remarkable memory in his life. The memory of a man hanging on a tree, whom he believed was truly God’s son.
He saw the omnipotent, all-powerful son of God hang there helpless on that cross, just to proclaim “My God, my God why has thou forsaken me.” We do not know if this centurion actually believed in the Lord Jesus at a later stage, but it is very much possible that he did. You may expect to see self-pity when one is condemned falsely, you may see self-doubt, a lot of anger and frustration, a lot of hatred but the Son of God showed only love on that cross. Unfailing unchanging love to all those who condemned him, hurt him, crucified him, because He knew they needed a Savior and He knew that if not for Him, man would never be reconciled with God.
A dying man was full of love and compassion to all those who actually led him there. He did not accuse them, condemn them, speak ill of them, instead He opened not His mouth. Its truly very difficult to comprehend. We are co-heirs with Christ. If you are faced with a cross, with suffering that you do not deserve, how do you respond? Do you say “Lord why” or do you like the Lord Jesus say “Lord let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not my will but thine be done” You are also a child of God by adoption. You can call Him Abba Father. But do we behave like the children of God in the face of suffering. Is it love to those who hurt us that is poured out or is it anger, hatred, frustration that is poured out? It is truly easy to say but look at God, the Son of God.
“How didst Thou humble Thyself to be taken.
Led by Thy creatures and nailed to the cross.
Hated of men, and of God too forsaken,
Shunning not darkness, the curse, and the loss.”
Led by thy creation and nailed to the cross…does that feel very pleasant? We think that our suffering is very great, we think that we are bearing so much pain and shame, look at the cross my friend, where the divine humbled himself to the lowest level possible. He was yet so calm, so strong, so compassionate and loving. He could instruct his disciple to take care of his mother, he looked at Peter, the one who denied him, with compassion, He forgave all those who hurt him, He is the role model of how one should handle suffering. Accept the Will of God. He will do all things well. Suffering is for a season, morning will come, but face the night boldly in the strength of the Lord.
