The words of a Negro Spiritual I learned as a youth go “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” The song describes the cruelty Jesus encountered step by step when he was crucified.

It isn’t easy to truly think about the crucifixion in detail. We like the cleaned up versions found in children’s storybooks better than reality. Somewhere in my recent activities it occurred to me that I needed to spend more time in the presence of that sacred moment when Jesus offered himself as our blood sacrifice. I needed to feel the sand and soil that held the cross upright. I needed to feel the rough wood of the cross. And then I needed to lift my eyes and look at the bruised and beaten body of Jesus who stayed on that cross because he loved me. He had all the power necessary to free himself and leave mankind to fend for their own sins forever, but his love kept him there.

Are you willing to look at Jesus on the cross and make it truly a personal experience? It isn’t easy, but it is necessary if you are to fully appreciate his sacrificial love for you.

I can’t leave you here because this video is too depressing to watch unless we recall the last verse which was omitted from this video – “Were you there when he rose up from the grave?” Don’t forget, Sunday’s coming with all its glory and victory!