The Feeling of Being Saved

Surprise it is Holy Week and Easter is only a few days away! If you are like me the days of lent kinda got past me and Easter came out of nowhere. I was much more prepared for this last year and if you when a My Christian Walk follower at this time last year you will remember I posted a daily breakdown of the events that happened during the last week of Jesus' life on earth. I spent a lot of time preparing and researching the events that led up to the resurrection of Jesus so that I could better understand Holy Week and Easter Sunday. It is a good thing I did because that post is exactly what I needed this year to get me on the right track for Easter. If you need a refresher course as I did please take a look at the Oh What A Week It Was, Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, and catch up with where we are in the week.

As I stated in the post last year, another great way I have found to understand the events of Jesus’ last 12 hours on earth is to watch The Passion of The Christ movie. I have watched this movie many times over the years and my husband and I have made it a tradition to watch this movie every Good Friday since we have been married. When watching this movie we normally pause and discuss or look up the biblical reference for parts of the movie. Giving us the opportunity to learn more each year and to grow closer to God. I do want to say that this movie is rated R and should come with a WARNING! I personally find this movie very hard to watch because it shows all of the pain Jesus experienced in His last few hours. It is heart-wrenching to watch but is also a humbling experience. You can also expect to be doing a lot of reading as the movie is completely in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew so there are many subtitles.

So why am I encouraging you to watch this movie if it is so emotionally difficult to get through? Well, I believe it is so incredibly important to better understand what Jesus experienced in His life and especially at the end of this life so that we can better connect to Him. For me, seeing with my own two eyes the pain and suffering He endured for me is more powerful than just reading about it in the Bible. It allows me to see Jesus as He was and not as just another story in a book that happened thousands of years ago. I sometimes struggle with grasping the greatness of what was done to save my soul. I have accepted the gift of salvation but I have completely forgotten the cost. When I watch the movie I am reminded that I should be the one being whipped and beaten, and I am the one who should be walking through the streets with the incredible weight of the cross upon my back. It shouldn’t have been the perfect son of God that took on all of my sins and yours. But nevertheless, Jesus took the pain and suffering so that we could be called children of God. He did not hesitate to offer Himself as the sacrifice so that we may have eternity with the Father in heaven.

I have always seen Jesus as the strong and powerful son of God but in the movie, we are able to see Him as a man who was weakened by the weight of our sins. It was not His sin that put Him on the cross but yours and mine. Jesus was perfect and never sinned yet He suffered the ultimate death on the cross so that our sins would be forgiven. We have to understand that we are the ones who put Him on that cross! We are the reason that a perfect person had to be taken from this world. This should lead us to fall on our knees and thank the Lamb of God and the Prince of Peace. We cannot and should not just accept this gift without understanding its cost. Although Jesus was willing to go to the cross for us it doesn't mean we can just allow Him to do so without it affecting us in some way. Jesus was a man who loved us so much that He was willing to lay down His life to protect ours. Yet when the tables are turned we often turn our backs on Him. We rarely give Him or God a second thought as we push through our days. It is true that God doesn't need us but He does want us to draw near to Him and cling to Him. He wants us to crave a deeper relationship with Him. The best part is that the story of Jesus on the cross is that it did not end there! Yes, Jesus hung on the cross and gave up His life but He also rose again and is now at this exact moment seated at the right hand of the Father Almighty in heaven.

So, here is the challenge this week! Don't just take the death and resurrection of Jesus with a grain of salt. Take the time to study and understand what He did for you and me on the cross. For some that might mean watching The Passion of the Christ or another movie that goes into depth about what really happened at the crucifixion and for others, it might mean spending time reading and carefully considering what is being said and done during this time of Jesus’ life. Whatever you do I can promise you it is going to be life-changing and it will probably lead to tears and a feeling of guilt. It is necessary to remind us of the cost that was paid for our sin and for what God had done for us. It is a time to face our sins, it is a time to own up to our failures and repent of the sins we commit that put Him on that cross.