Walk of Life – Day 15 – March 2021 – the C R O S S of Calvary
Onlookers at the Cross
“A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.” Luke 23:10
Imagining the scene of the cross and the surroundings is very depressing. Imagine standing there and watching a man being taken to a cross, beaten and tortured and not being able to do anything about it. Three men being crucified, one of whom many of them believed to be the Messiah. There would have been crowds of people watching with different mindsets.
Specific names that are mentioned are of the women with the Lord Jesus.
“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” (John 19:25). There were many more but these were the prominent women.
I often wonder how a mother could be standing watching her son die. It must have been the most traumatic experience with no one helping, the disciples who were with him for three and a half years not to be seen anywhere around except for John. She probably knew that her son was also her Savior. She would have realized that the baby born in her womb was God’s son not hers…she was just His chosen vessel. Love these lyrics:
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you
In addition to the women who actually were deeply grieved and were mourning the death of the Lord Jesus were Roman soldiers, criminals and the Roman centurion. There were also chief priests, scribes, elders and rulers.
“In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself!'” (Mark 15: 31)
Standing back and gazing out upon that mixed multitude, we notice the women, the soldiers, the malefactors, the centurion, the chief priests, the members of the Sanhedrin, the group of His own disciples, and in addition to these, the vast multitudes of people from the whole surrounding country. All sorts and conditions of people are gathered to the Cross, representative crowds, the whole scene being a picture and a prophecy of how, through all the centuries, every sort and condition would be gathered to the uplifted Cross of the Son of man.
It is time to think…have you come to the cross of Christ? Are you standing there looking at his sufferings and just keeping quiet? Or like the centurion, have you come to the realization that truly this is the Son of God. I am sure there would have been many that day who heard the gracious words of the Lord Jesus and believed on that day. Similarly there would have been many who believed he did something wrong for which he was crucified. There would have been crowds who felt sad for him and just walked away. The soldiers who mocked him and made fun of him would never have realized that the Son of God was bearing all their sins on His own body. It was a spectacle for them…they enjoyed the mockery and the suffering of an innocent man!
Today, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is a truth that many of us believe. There are still many who mock, many who turn a blind eye, many who just don’t care. Where do you place yourself?
At the foot of the cross is life eternal, peace that passeth all understanding, joy overflowing, a calm and a hope that only Christ can give. Do not be an onlooker. Believe on the finished work on the cross. Accept Christ as Lord and Savior. He is faithful. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
