This Man

We talk to the kids a lot about Jesus, the Bible, God and the moral compass that we expect them to have...even now at their young age. We think it is important that they start learning these things now and that God is a foundation of our life and theirs. Leading up to Easter, we have been talking about Jesus dying on the cross. Samuel has been talking about it at school, and of course, Samuel and Jacob have both been learning about it in Sunday school.

So the other night, we were having a conversation before bed and we were talking about courage, and Jesus...here is my recollection of the conversation:

S: It's like that song "would you take the nails from his hands" (singing)
M: Yes! That is what that song is talking about - when Jesus died on the cross. The next part of the song is "would you take the place of this man". Do you think you could do what Jesus did? Could you die on a cross like that?
S: No! I couldn't do that!
M: Me neither! Jesus was perfect in every way and he knew that he had to die on the cross so that we could be forgiven for our sins. Can you imagine that? Just so that when you disobey mommy and daddy, and when I say something the wrong way to Daddy, just so that when we make bad choices, God will forgive us. Jesus went through ALL that!
S: Wow. I couldn't do that.
M: Nope. And God doesn't expect us too. That's part of what is so wonderful about it. No one expects you to be perfect...but we do expect you to try your best to make the right choices.
S: yeah, it's just like that song.

Here is "that song", put to scenes from The Passion of the Christ. It is This Man by Jeremy Camp.

I urge you to watch the video. It is hard to swallow and if you are at all like me, it will leave you in tears, struck speechless at the magnitude of what this man did for us. The movie is amazing and not to be taken lightly, so this few minutes of the video will impact you greatly.

To some, Jesus dying on the cross is a story - only a legend from the Bible, which is also a book of stories. Things of men being swallowed by great fish, boats that survived floods, men that tamed lions and boys that conquer giants. To go back and read the New Testament and read the accounts of Jesus' days on Earth, as a man preaching the gospel and teaching us how to be free of our sinful nature, it is amazing to see the depth of His compassion. To know, that He knew, His purpose here was to die for these people that mocked him. To DIE for those that were basically His enemies. To DIE for these sinners that were not even deserving to touch His feet...and yet He let them. He called to them. He loved them. He freed them. He freed me.

To watch this video puts flesh to the "legend". It takes the easiness out of saying that this man was nailed to a cross with a crown of thorns and died to free the world from sin. It shows the beating and abuse He took before even being nailed to the cross. It shows the heart wrenching condemnation He endured before He was impaled by thorns. It shows that this crown of thorns was probably the least of the pain He endured and that the most was when our sin was placed upon Him. It shows His bloodied and bruised flesh. It shows that He was a man - a person like you and me. He endured great pain and great suffering. He did this for you.

God doesn't ask us to take the place of This Man. His grace restores us each and every day. Take advantage of it. He wants you to.