by Rev. Dn. Mat Alexander

You have to feel bad for the disciples… Poor guys left behind everything to follow after this incredible teacher they had just met. They followed him on foot miles and miles through deserts, farms, cities, and random desolate places. They sailed through intense storms, that had them afraid for their lives. They stood with Jesus when the religious leaders of the times were making threats and chasing after Him. They even attempted to pray all night. And all the while, they listened to and witnessed incredible things, but all the while, did not get it. Even though Jesus had told them over and over again that He was going to die and rise again, they just did not grasp it. They walked with Him for years…and in many ways, still didn't understand who He was.

The real scary thing is… the Gospels aren't telling us that the disciples messed up, they are telling us that we have. You see, the disciples could have gone out after Pentecost and preached and written about all of their experiences in a different way. They could have written in excuses, or maybe tried to point out things that they each had done right, or even bragged about how great their hair looked in Galilee. They could have, but the Holy Spirit didn't include those things. The Holy Spirit is trying to tell each of us today that though we've walked with Jesus for years and years, in many ways we still have no clue who He is.

You could have walked with Him mile after mile, through joys and storms, and yet never known Who walked with you. Today we set aside a full day to reflect on Christ's suffering for our sake. The only One who did not deserve death, decided to take it on. We pray and remember everything God has prepared from the beginning of time to the end, and how everything leads to the Cross. We see the serpent trampled by the heel of the cross, we see the forbidden fruit replaced with a bitter drink. We see all the powers in this world conquered by a humiliating, painful, and innocent death. We literally prepare a tomb, both for Christ, and for ourselves. And we actually walk forwards towards the Cross, where we bow down and place ourselves at the place where we most need to be, at the foot of the cross.

We remember and reflect on the fact that even if you were the only sinner in this entire world, throughout all time, Jesus still would have gone to the cross for you. It is this willful, innocent, and self-sacrificing death that He takes on, and that death itself cannot find a way to contain, that breaks open our own tombs, that wipes away everything that prevents us from entering into God's presence.

You cannot recognize this and yet still continue in your old ways. Note that the disciples never stopped moving towards Christ. They may have walked miles and miles, but the prize is still ahead of them, as it is with each of us. And on that glorious day, when we reach our destination, and Christ asks us if we knew Him, we can confidently say Yes Lord! You are My Lord, and My God.