Do you ever try to put yourself into the Bible narrative and wonder what it was really like? I do. Today in class , I was teaching on the realities of what Jesus attained for us on the cross. I love teaching theology! However when it comes to Easter I often find myself pondering and reflecting on not the theological implications but what would it have been like to be there – I want to ask some questions
1.What was it really like in the garden when the Roman guard came to arrest Jesus- what were the disciples thinking- did they feel like this was the end for them too -how scared were they ?
2. What did it feel like to be Mary , standing watching your son and Saviour suffer?
3. What happened to the Centurian who declared “Surely this was the Son of God ” – did he feel guilt and sadness at being part of Jesus’s death?
4. Was there a priest in the temple when the curtain, that was around a foot thick, ripped from top to bottom- how did he process that ? Did he know that he could now enter God’s presence or did he run out screaming in fear?
5. What was it like for your average Jew when the sky went dark at 3pm in the afternoon- what did they think had just happened?
6. How was it for the women who went to the tomb to find it empty?
7. What was the human reaction to the pivotal point in human history , the moment Jesus died on a cross with the sin of the world on him, and then rose from the grave when death could not hold him down?
8 . Did they have any idea what it really meant ?
My questions allow me to enter into the story and remind myself again that there were human reactions to a God encounter .
In the end the story is a love story, in the end a simple love story – it is about God who loved humanity so much that he would let his Son die for them.
Did they understand that at the time – do I understand the depths of it today? Do I just listen to the Easter story, as something very familiar, and not take time to appreciate what it really means?
Happy Easter – hope you ask yourself some questions this Easter as you reflect, remember and celebrate Jesus !
(The art work is by Ps Phil Pringle – not only my Senior Pastor but professional artist – one of the most moving Easter experiences I have had was watching him paint Jesus on the cross live ! http://philpringle.com/artgallery )
Such great questions Pam – I find them rejuvenating my experience of Easter and boosting my love for Christ. I start to go there and picture myself in those places and my heart can’t handle it. I think of Mary watching her son die, a moment she knew and I’m sure, feared, would eventually come. I can’t imagine all the conflicting emotions she must have felt. That must have been so difficult. And I think of the Priest and say, surely he fell of his face and worshipped. Surely he understood what was now accessible to him. Surely this is the day that he’d been secretly hoping would come. I hope that was his reaction. Such great questions to ask ourselves — how would we react and then respond in each of those scenarios? Happy Easter!