In Mark chapter 14 we see that Jesus goes into a garden area of the Mount of Olives called Gethsemane and there in verse 35 it says, "He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, "Abba"! All the angels in heaven had at least one eye on Jesus at all times now because they knew what was about to take place.They were all on edge as they seen the day approaching for Jesus to give His life for the sins of man. When Jesus cried "Abba"! I can just imagine that millions and millions of angels rushing at one time to come to His aide but was stopped by the hand of God the Father. It must have been like hitting a glass wall that kept them from going any closer to the Son of God. They no doubt were on edge and would go in force at the lowering of the hand of God.
After His first prayer he goes and finds Peter, James and John sleeping and tells them to watch and pray. The angels just shake their heads. He goes off the second time and prays again the same words, "Abba"! The angels lunge forward to the aide of Jesus and again is stopped by the Word of God the Father, "No". Like a moth that hits the windshield of a car they are stopped.
Then a third time Jesus prays the same words but this time God the Father stops the angels with just the look of His eyes. They want to go so bad and there is a great moaning sound heard through out all of heaven. You could hear the sound of speeding heart beats and the fidgeting of their feet but for now they must wait.
This is part One of a fictional story that I wrote about the days leading up to the Cross. I will post other parts in the "comments" so feel free to check back often. Please click on the "time" that I post the comment.
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The road to the cross (Part 2)
After Judas gave Jesus a kiss the soldiers grabbed Jesus and throws him to the ground face down. They pulled his hands behind his back and tied them securely with a coarse rope which immediately began to rub the hide off his wrist. Then the soldiers turned toward the disciples. In Mark 14:50 the bible says, "Then they all forsook Him and fled."
The disciples ran as fast as they could go in the dark night. There were no street lights, no torches, no light at all except for the moon. All of them scattered like a covey of quail, going in every direction. They didn't have to run far to be out of the sight of the soldier's torches but they kept running until they were completely out of breath.
Thomas gets caught right under the chin by an olive branch that drops him to the ground. He lays there trying to breath but the wind is knocked out of him. The soldiers are coming his way and he panics. He crawls under some bushes and prays that he is not found. He could hear his heart beating and was scared that the soldiers would hear it too.
As the soldiers pass by him no more than 8 feet away, Jesus is pushed violently and he falls to the ground. One of the soldiers kicks him in the side and demands that he get up. As Jesus' eyes focus in the dim light he sees Thomas lying under the bushes. Thomas puts his finger to his mouth signaling for Jesus not to give him away.
The soldiers drag Jesus a few feet until he stands up on his own. Thomas never moves a muscle until all is clear. He lays there and thanks God that he wasn't caught. Doubts and fears flood his mind as he continues to lay there trembling.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (Part 3)
Mark 14:53 says "And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes." Jesus was taken with his hands bound behind his back and chains around his waist to Caiaphas' home. All the way there he was mocked and slapped around by the soldiers.
Each time someone would hit Jesus a gasp could be heard through out all heaven. The angels were flying around by the millions and barely could contain them selves. It reminded me of the sight around a hornet's nest when it is disturbed. You just don't want to mess with either one.
One of the soldiers asked Jesus in a mocking tone, "Call for the angels to come help you if you are the Son of God." At that every angel in heaven stop cold in their tracks waiting for Jesus' command. You could hear the sound of swords slowly coming out of their scabbards.
Starting up the long hill to Caiaphas' home Jesus tires and stumbles. The soldiers yank on the chain and it keeps him from falling but the chain whips across his mouth and the blood flows. The blood of the Lamb of God is already being poured out onto the ground. Even today you can touch the stone road and feel the power from the blood. There is power in the blood!
The angels in heaven watch each drop that hits the ground in case the Father wants them to go and recover it. It is holy blood and very precious. It washes away man's sin. They remembered Isaiah 1:18 which says, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Very precious!
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 4)
In Mark 14:60 & 61 the high priest asked Jesus if He was the Son of God. Jesus answers in Mark 14:62 that He was. At this the high priest was enraged and tore his clothes and cried out "You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.
The evil demons were hanging on to anything that they could wrap their claws around. Some were upside down hanging from ceiling beams like bats. Others were perched on the backs of the religious leaders urging them on. Saying such things as, "guilty, scream out he is guilty" and some were saying, "condemn him to death."
The more the demons would urge the leaders the more the leaders would shout out blasphemous things about the Lord. There were 4 demons on top of the high priest and they had him soaked from the drool coming out of their mouths but the high priest just thought that he was sweating. The demons laughed and danced at the sight of the soldiers knocking Jesus around.
Then one of the priests came up and back handed Jesus across the face. Blood flew across the room and landed on some of the bystanders. The blood had a strange effect on them and they stopped their jeering and became very quiet. They started to have second thoughts about this mock trail and some even said so out loud. The soldiers grabbed them by the throat and threw them out of the room. One of them landed at the feet of Peter.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 5)
Peter was just trying to stay warm but people kept pestering him. Twice already he denied that he was one of Jesus' disciples and in Mark 14:69&70, this girl says, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it." Peter was from the south and he really talks country.
Peter denies the third time that he even knew Jesus. He is beside himself with anger and begins to curse and swear. At that very moment the rooster crows. The sound of the rooster was so loud and shrill that everyone around stopped to listen. The only sounds that was heard was Peter still screaming, "I'm not one of His **** disciples!" In shock he turns around quickly and through the door he sees Jesus looking at him with the one eye that was not swelled shut from the beating.
Peter takes off running back down the hill in a full sprint. Several times he trips and falls but would get right back up and run again. Almost to the bottom of the hill he falls again and this time he just lays there and cries. Cries like a baby but he doesn't care. He had denied the Lord just like Jesus said that he would.
Peter is at the lowest point in his life. From the top of the world just a few days earlier at the Mount of Transfiguration to the valley of the shadow of death. He laid there sobbing and wailing out loud, "Jesus, Jesus I am sorry!" But the only ones that heard him was the demons all around him dancing and high fiving each other. Some were doing back flips while others stood on top of Peter shouting, "We've won, we've won!"
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 6)
In Matthew 27 we read in verse 3, "Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned". What was I thinking, Judas thought after betraying Jesus into the hands of the chief priests and the elders. As he seen all the other disciples flee and then the treatment Jesus received as he was led to the high priest's home, he admitted that he had been a fool.
Not knowing that Satan himself had entered him (Luke 22:3) and put such wicked thoughts in his head, Judas fell to the ground and began to weep. "I could have been the greatest one of the disciples and I blew it. The ministry of Jesus was growing and being the treasurer I would have been rich."
Then the demons showed up and begin to torment him, shouting right in his ears, "We are through with you, betrayer! You did us a great favor, condemned one! See you in hell, looser!" After each statement the demons would roll around on the ground and laugh and then they would gnaw on him with their jagged teeth. Judas felt the pain and the torment and decided to clear his conscience and take back the 30 pieces of silver.
On his way back to the high priest the demons continued to torment him. When he got there he said, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." He just knew that if he confessed to the high priest and gave the money back that whatever was tormenting him would stop. When they answered, "What is that to us?" Judas tossed the money down in front of them and ran out.
With demons hanging all over him and gnawing at him, he ran out of the city. The guilt had consumed him now and he wanted nothing but to end it all. Finding a tall tree, he climbed up to a limb that was about 20 feet off the ground. He tied a small rope around the limb and the other end around his neck. The demons kept yelling louder and louder, "Jump you fool, jump!"
When Judas did jump off the limb the demons just froze. Then like the start of the fireworks on the 4th of July, they exploded up into the air laughing and patting each other on the back.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 7)
All of the disciples were scattered and in hiding after Jesus was taken by the soldiers. They just knew that they all would be tracked down and arrested. One by one the disciples returned to the Upper room. They began to question each other about what to do next. They were so confused because it was just not supposed to happen this way.
John enters the room and tells everyone that Jesus is being condemned at this very moment by the chief priest and the whole council. He said, "They have all kinds of witnesses who are telling lies and everyone was believing them." He also told them how badly Jesus was being treated.
Then someone begins to bang on the door. The disciples become quiet and stare at each other. When they recognize Peter's voice they run to the door and open it. Peter looks a mess. For several moments they just look at him and then one by one they put their arms around him and brought him inside. As they hold on to each other they begin to cry. Grown men, used to living a hard life were broken to the point of tears.
John speaks up and says that he is going back to see this to the end. Andrew asks him, "Do you want to die also?" John has to think about that for a few minutes and then he says to them all, "I have to go back (he pauses for just a second) I love Him, He is my Lord." The other disciples look down at the floor.
John leaves the Upper room and a group of angels with swords drawn go with him. On his way he goes and finds Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. They were on their knees praying.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 8)
It was hot and dusty in his shop today but he and his young son continued to work on this special order. A Roman centurion came by the day before and placed the order for a new whip called a flagrum or cat of nine tails. They got right to work cutting out the leather straps. Next he put a handle on it that would not slip in the hands during use. At the other end he laced in 9 short pieces of leather strips.
As he heated up the pot to melt the lead his son asked him what that was for. The father begin to explain, "I will melt lead and pour it into these olive size molds and before it sets up I will put glass, nails and bone pieces in it. I must be careful that the points are all leaning in the same direction so when the whip is used the points will grab like an eagle's talons."
The son asked the father, "But dad, would that tear the skin?" His father answered, "That is what it is supposed to do plum down to the bone. This is not a toy, my son, it is used to torture a person until they tell the truth. The people who are scourged with this whip will fess up to the truth or will die with the truth. It is a horrible way to die, my son.
As the man continued to work the angels began to gather all around watching. They remembered Isaiah 53:3-5 which says, "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.."
The father tells his son that the person that is scourged with this whip will suffer great pain and that the Romans rarely showed any mercy to their prisoners. As he finished the whip he took it and examined it closely. Then he took it and made a short swing across an olive tree and it grabbed a hold of the bark and held on. Then the man pulled the whip with a yank and the bark ripped off. He told his son, "It's finished."
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 9)
In Mark 15:1 the bible says, "Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council;" Well, they were not the only ones at this meeting for Satan and his demons would not miss it for the world.
All the council met together to determine what to do with this Jesus who claims to be the Son of God. One said, "Let us stone him for we all heard him say blasphemous things." But another said that we would get in trouble with the Romans because our right to execute capital punishment has been taken away. Then the high priest said, "Then we will let the Romans crucify him." Satan smiles.
The council raised their voices in agreement shouting, "Away with him, crucify him, crucify him!" As always, the demons were a buzz with excitement and ran around stirring up the crowd. There were a couple who disagreed with the rest and the demons noticed it and jumped them at once. They hated these two and gnashed on them with their crooked, rotten teeth. The men felt the pain and it hurt so bad that they kept quiet and never said another word.
As the council started to take Jesus out of the room each one went by him and spit on him (one of the worst possible insults you could give a person).
One scribe as he came by had 6 demons riding him and he got right up in Jesus' face and yelled, "Burn in hell!" The demons exploded with laughter. It filled the whole room with a sulfur smell that reeked.
Jesus had only one eye that he could barely see out of because of the beating and he looked at the scribe and said, "I forgive you". The scribe took the back of his hand and slapped Jesus so hard that Jesus almost lost consciousness. The demons were laughing so hard that they were rolling on the floor holding their stomachs crying out, "Oh, you are killing us". Satan stood over beside the high priest patting him on the back.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 10)
We read in John 18:28 "Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning." The council had made their decision and Jesus was condemned to death. The soldiers led him out and started their way to Pilate. With the demons urging them on the soldiers were very mean to Jesus by constantly pushing and hitting him.
All the way down the hill the demons swarmed the soldiers and yelled all kinds of blasphemous things. They were having the time of their wicked life. Satan himself followed with them until they got beside the temple. At that point the soldiers shoved Jesus so hard that he fell to the road. One of the soldiers said for the others to rest a minute. Satan looked up at the temple and shouted out, "The thrown will be mine. The day will come soon that all will come and worship me." Matthew 24:15
Satan ordered that the demons follow closely and inform him if any problems come up. He was going to work on Pilate. He had no trouble getting Pilate to do things in the past but he wasn't taking any chances today. He would see to it that the Son would die and he would be the one worshiped. No one was going to stand between him and his thrown. All the demons bowed down before Satan and worshiped him. Jesus lay on the road and thought about the things that would happen this day. Angels came to minister to him and he was encouraged by their presence.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 11)
Pilate watched the crowd approach the steps below him. He noticed that Jesus was bound with chains and looked to be badly beaten. He thought that was strange for he just watched Jesus a few days before come into Jerusalem being hailed as the King of the Jews. John 12:12-15 Pilate's residence was at the highest place in Jerusalem just so he could watch and see all that goes on in the city, especially in the temple area.
All the religious leaders were dressed in their traditional garb and walked up to the first step with their heads held high. Jesus stumbles and goes to his knees and two soldiers picked him up by his arms. With legs still shaking he stood there and lifted his head up and looked at Pilate.
There were powerful angels standing on top of every wall. Satan sat over to one side of the steps near Pilate ready to take control if necessary. All the host of demons came in with the crowd and had them worked up. Some of the people in the crowd didn't even know what was going on but they were up set anyway. They were all excited and ready to riot if necessary.
There was no love loss between these two parties and this meeting today was one of those necessary evils. Jesus sways and almost falls and bumps into one of the priest near by and the priest shoves him back over. The angels flinch but no one advances because they have their orders. The demons are uncontrollable and are running around causing all kinds of havoc. One of the demons brushes off the priest's arm where Jesus touched him. The priest felt the cold chills run up his arm and was sickened by the thoughts of this blasphemer touching him. He looked his arm over closely to be sure none of his blood rubbed off on him.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 12)
John 18:29 says, "Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" Satan had been hanging around all morning knowing that Pilate wasn't too crazy about pleasing the Jews and may be trouble. He had all his demons summoned to be present at this trial. He could already taste the victory and nothing in this world was going to stop him.
The open court was covered with a black cloud of demons and Satan took his place beside the high priest. The high priest answered Pilate saying, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you." The mob that had gathered roared, "Crucify him, he doesn't deserve to live!" There were at least a dozen demons for everyone present and they knew what would happen to them if they weren't successful today. Satan had already threatened them that he would tear them apart piece by piece.
Satan told one of the demons to get the scribe to say that Jesus was going to tear down the Temple but the demon told Satan, "but that would be a lie, Pilate will never believe it." Satan hit the demon so hard that he was shattered into a million pieces. All the other demons were shocked and their eyes bulged out. Then they started rolling on the floor again with laughter.
The demons just kept the pressure up on each person there that day to shout false accusations. The whole council and the mob begin to cry out and accuse Jesus of many things but Jesus never said a word. The angels in heaven cried out, "Jesus, Lord Jesus please defend your holiness!" But Jesus remained silent, enduring the shame.
Then Michael the archangel said with a loud voice, "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." The rest of the angels in heaven bowed their heads and said, "Blessed is the Lamb".
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 13)
Pilate's wife laid on her bed trembling. She had just woke up from a dream that she had. She was glad to be awake and that it was just a dream. Just days before she was out in the city and heard Jesus speak. She thought that he was a good man and that he could turn the city around if people would listen to him.
In her dream she was walking by the temple steps where Jesus was sitting and she stopped and talked to him for a while. His words were so different from those of the priest in Jerusalem. They were full of love and forgiveness. He talked of how we should love God with all our heart and that we should pray.
She commented that he was a good man and that the people needed to hear his message. He asked her if she believe in the Son of God? She said that she wanted to but not right now. As the wife of Pilate she was very careful about what she did. "One day I will", she said and smiled at Jesus. Then Jesus told her that she doesn't know how many days she has left on the earth.
As she started to leave she says to him, "One day soon, I promise!" She walks on down the steps and begins to walk up the road to toward the market. From out of no where a chariot comes out from the side at full speed. All she sees is the nostrils flaring and the bulging eyes of the large black horses coming right at her. She screams as loud as she can and she wakes up from her dream.
Laying there sweating and shaking all over she thinks about the dream and realizes that she doesn't know how long her life will be. Then she hears a roar from outside her window. She gets up and looks out and sees the crowd and Jesus in chains standing beside Pilate.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 14)
Jesus could barely stand before his accusers. He had been up all night and now the sun was beating down on him. His wounds from the soldiers and the religious leaders were causing him pain all over his body. With each move he made there would be a groan come from deep within.
As he looked out at the mob he would think back to the days on the edge of the Sea of Galilee where the same size crowd would gather just to hear him speak. They would say such things like, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" Then the mob would shout out "Crucify him, crucify him" and Jesus' fond memories would fade away and reality would set back in. He was being condemned to death by the very people he had come to save.
The Lord could see all the demons urging the crowd to hate him and to see him dead. Every so often demons would get so excited that they would fight each other for their next victim. The victor would immediately jump onto a priest and gnaw at him tell he yelled out something ugly.
Looking out again at the crowd he spotted the rich young ruler that he had loved. The young man was wagging his head in discuss at the sight of the one who told him, "come and follow me". He shouted out, "I knew that you were a fake, you just wanted my money." The demons loved this guy and crowded around him clinging onto him and licking his face.
Even in all the pain and sorrow, Jesus forgave him, he forgave all of them. He would cry out in his spirit, "O Father forgive them, glorify Your son." Then Satan as if he knew smiled at Jesus and said, "You should have taken me up on my offer." The demons heard it and shot up into the air and spun around until it looked like a tornado and with one voice cried, "Beelzebub, Apollyon, O Lucifer you are the most powerful and to be feared and worshiped!"
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 15)
We find in John 18:37&38 these words, "Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"
Well, Pilate was going to find out the truth one way or another. In John 19:1 the bible says, So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. The Romans had a way to get the truth out of a person and that was by scourging them. Pilate calls for his soldiers to come and take Jesus away. The angels standing all around knew exactly what was going to happen next. All they need is the command and they would come in force. There was one hundred million angels all watching and ready.
The soldiers led Jesus to a whipping post in the center of the Praetorium and there tied his hands to the post. A large man came up to Jesus with a cat of nine tails in his hand and shows it to Jesus. He asked him, "Are you a king?" Jesus does not answer him and the man takes the whip and strikes Jesus across the back. Jesus cries out in pain but still doesn't answer the man. "O, you are a tough guy", the man states and hits him again and again and again.
With each strike of the whip Jesus cries out with pain. The angels are fit to be tied and want to come and help but the order doesn't come. Again and again and again the soldier whips Jesus across the back. The blood of the Lamb of God is slung every where. Thirty nine times Jesus is whipped and the commander stops the whipping. "I'm satisfied" he says and walks back in and tell Pilate that Jesus never said a word. They untie Jesus and he fall to the floor and they drag him off.
The angels where silent until one spoke up and said, "Most Holy God, grant us the ability to cry this day! For this is the saddest day in all history. Let us weep for the One we love and adore. Let us cry rivers of tears to show our sorrow we have for our Lord." There was silence in Heaven for thirty minutes. Then, from under the altar you could here singing. It was the saints singing praises to the Lamb. It was a new song and only the saints knew the words. They sang of grace and mercy. They sang that Jesus was worthy or all praise and power and worship and glory. It was the most beautiful song ever heard but still it was little comfort for the angels.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 16)
John 19:2&3 says, and the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands.
The soldiers were not through with Jesus and neither were the demons. They drag Jesus over to the side and begin to mock him. He was bloody all over and most thought that he would die any minute from blood loss. But Jesus wasn't finished yet, he had an appointment with a cross.
The soldiers started mocking Jesus. They bow the knee and said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Another soldier put a reed in his hand and said, "Now he looks like a king!" They all laughed and continued to mock Jesus. Then one of the soldiers said, "How stupid of me, every king needs a crown." So he twisted a crown of thorns and shoved it down on the Lord's head. He did not have the strength to jump but only moaned. The soldier took the reed from Jesus' hand and used it to beat the crown of thrones down on Jesus' head. The blood ran down his face from the thrones.
The demons were wild with excitement and urged the soldiers on. The soldiers were having fun mocking Jesus and took turns hitting him on the head with the reed. Then they spat on him and said, "Where are your subjects, king?" Jesus was so weak that he just sat there. The soldiers grew board and stood Jesus up and walked him back out to Pilate.
It was amazing that Jesus could even walk. He had an inter strength that just kept him going. The demons were not board and continued to run all around jumping on the soldiers and gnawing at them. When a soldier had enough he would shove Jesus and cause him to fall to the floor. The demons would explode in laughter. Jesus would get right back up and continue walking, never saying a word. When a demon got too close to Jesus a powerful angel would fly down at the speed of light, and the demon would just explode and there would be nothing left.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 17)
The soldiers walked Jesus back out to Pilate. Jesus was bloody all over from the beatings. Then Pilate said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?"
The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"
All the Jews were puzzled how such words as "We have no king but Caesar" could come out of their mouth. They hated the Romans and would war against them if they were strong enough. They could not see Satan and the demons constantly urging them on to say wicked things. The demons were in a frenzy and piled on top of the priests and gnawed on their legs and arms.
The Jewish leaders felt their place as heads over the people threatened by Jesus and were easily used by Satan. Their pride was so strong that one demon could poke a priest with a q-tip and he would yell insults at the Son of God. They were so blinded to the truth and would rather believe the words of their fellow man than the Word of God.
Pilate was convinced that Jesus should be turned loose and remembered that he always turned loose a prisoner at this time of year. So he got the crowd quiet and said to them in John 18:39, "But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" Satan jumped up and roared like a lion. He got all the demons attention and demanded that they attack with all their might.
John 18:40 says, "Then they all cried again, saying, "Not this Man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber." Satan walked back over to where he was sitting and smiled. Pilate releases Barabbas to the crowd and as Barabbas walks by Jesus he says, "Sorry man, you loose!"
Jesus would suffer for many evil men so that they may go free. He was going through all this suffering and shame for a reason. Satan himself even thought about it but just couldn't figure it out. He came to the conclusion that he was more powerful and in control and Jesus had no choice.
John 19:16 says, "Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away."
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 18)
John 19:17 says, "And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha," The soldiers took Jesus outside to a pile of wooden crosses that lay on the ground. There was a new cross laying there that caught one of the soldier's attention. He said, "This one here is brand new and has never been used. We can't crucify a king on a used cross." They all laughed and picked it up and put it on Jesus' back.
The new cross still had the sap in it and that made it that much more heavy to carry. It was all Jesus could do to hold it up and walk. Several times he would collapse under the load and fall face down to the road. He was too weak to brace his fall with his arms and the weight of the cross would drive his face and body into the stone road. Each time he fell the soldiers would kick at him and demand him to get back up.
As he drag the cross along the stone road the end of the cross would bounce up and down over the cracks and that pounding would shoot pain through out Jesus' body. At one point he collapsed again and the bible says in Mark 15:21, "Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross."
Simon was a strong man and took most of the weight of the cross off of Jesus. In fact he had one arm around the cross and had a hold of the Jesus' arm to help hold Jesus up. Many a man throughout history has wanted to take Simon's place to help Jesus carry his cross. Together they continue walking until they were out of the city.
They stopped for a moment and rested and the soldiers let them for they were tired also from pushing back the crowd that was constantly pressing in on them. Jesus looks up ahead and saw the face of a skull in the side of a hill. That would be Golgotha. It is a place where many people entering Jerusalem would pass by.
The soldiers, ready to get this over with, hit Jesus with a whip and demanded him and Simon to get going again. With all the strength Jesus had he started walking again up the hill toward the face of the skull. When they finally got there Jesus collapsed to the ground face down. The demons danced and were shouting blasphemous things. The angels watched in agony.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 19)
The soldier laid Jesus on the cross and held him tightly while others drove a long spike through his right hand. The pain shot up through his arm and he let out a scream. Then they went to the other hand and drove a spike through it. Jesus was at the point of fainting from the pain but a soldier slaps him a few times and says, "Your majesty, don't you go to sleep. You might miss something." The demons laughed and danced all around. The more pain the soldiers inflicted on Jesus the more the demons liked it.
Then they drove a spike through both his feet. This pain went throughout his body and he began to shake all over. No man alive has ever gone through more pain than Jesus did this day. Then the soldiers stood the cross up and it dropped a couple of feet down into a hole. The jar was so painful that Jesus again cried out.
Mark 15:27&28 says, With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors." Jesus hung on the cross just like other criminals. This being a public place, there were many people that came by to see them crucified. Some were sad and some were happy to see the world rid of such people.
Jesus was paying a great price for the sins of the world, for the wages of sin is death. Little did the priest and the others standing around know that he was doing this for them. John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
(I speak for myself now, I am not worthy of such love. I deserve to hang on my own cross for rebelling against my Maker. I would die in my sins and spend eternity in Hell if not for Jesus. So I bow before Him and proclaim, "Jesus, You are my Lord, my Savior and my God!")
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 20)
Mark 15:29&30 says, And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"
Jesus continued to have trouble breathing. With each breath he would go through much pain and the pain never lessened. But even on the cross while the demons were stirring up the ones watching, Jesus had nothing but love in his heart. He cried out once, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." The soldiers looked up at him and then went back to casting lots for the winner got Jesus' clothes.
The chief priest and the scribes said, "He saved others, himself he cannot save." They walked over to the side wagging their heads and said, "Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross that we may see and believe." Their mocking continued and Jesus listened to every word. The pain in his heart was so great, because he loved those who mocked him.
One of the thieves saw the compassion that Jesus had in his heart for sinners and said to him, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." The man believed Jesus' words and was comforted.
The skies were darkening and the dust was blowing and more people left the hill and went back into Jerusalem. Jesus was dying and the priest and the scribes were satisfied. They had seen enough. Satan still wasn't taking any chances and watched from the distance. He told his demons, "The son is dying and soon I will be in complete control of man." The demons bowed down before him. The blood of Jesus continued to drip to the ground.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 21)
It was dark, way to dark for this time of the day. Jesus hung on the cross and was barely alive. His heart was beating fast trying to keep him living but he was not getting enough oxygen. He would push up with his legs just long enough to get a breath and then sag back down. The pain was unbearable and was making him want to scream out each time he moved.
Demons were every where and what a time they were having. Once they tried to circle around the cross but a powerful angel swooped down and with his sword drawn cut three of them in half. The others scattered as they looked back at their fallen comrades.
By this time most of the on lookers and religious leaders had left. The excitement was over and not much to see now. Plus it did look like a storm was brewing and the dust was blowing around. A lot of the dust was from the demons dancing and fighting.
Sitting on the ground and totally exhausted from the days events were Mary the mother of Jesus, her sister and Mary Magdalene and John. Angels stood around them but there was no comfort. Each time a moan came from Jesus his mother and friends would moan also. It was the worse day of all of their lives.
It just wasn't supposed to happen this way they all thought. Mary could remember the words of the angel 34 years ago as if it was yesterday. John remembered Jesus saying over and over, "I am the way, the truth and the life" and he was dying on the cross. They noticed that Jesus was moving less and less. The tears begin to fall from their eyes and were leaving streaks down their dusty faces. John just broke down and wept and the Marys pulled him close and they held on tight.
Then for the last time Jesus rose up and breathed for the last time.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 22)
Joseph was a good man and was also a disciple of Jesus. He was blessed by God and was very wealthy. He was from Arimathea but was in Jerusalem for business and also to inspect the new tomb he had hewn out of solid rock.
As he entered the city he heard the news about Jesus being crucified. "No!" he shouted and ran up to Golgotha. He fell at the foot of the cross and wept bitterly. There was a Roman soldier who had stuck his spear through Jesus' side still standing there looking up. Blood and water came pouring out and ran down the soldier's arm. He put his hand on Joseph's shoulder and said, "Truly this was the Son of God."*
Joseph was surrounded by a host of angels to guard and protect him for there were still thousands of demons all around. The demons chanted nonstop, "Jesus is dead, Jesus is dead". Joseph decided to go to Pilate and get permission to take Jesus' body and bury him. After getting permission he returned to Golgotha with Nicodemus and picked up the body of Jesus and started for his own tomb. His servants begged to help carry Jesus' body so Joseph and Nicodemus let them.
It wasn't very far to the garden area where the tomb was located. When they got there, they wrapped Jesus' body in clean cloth and laid him in the tomb. Joseph and all his servants rolled a large stone across the opening which sealed the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus sat outside the tomb and wept and could not be comforted.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 23)
The next day the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.
So Pilate sent a group of soldier to the tomb to guard the door. The soldiers didn't mind this job because the tomb was in a quiet, lovely garden. If only they could hear the demons still chanting, "Jesus is dead, Jesus is dead," they might have thought other wise.
Every now and then a demon would get to close to the tomb and an angel would swoop down and swing his sword so fast that the demon never knew what hit him. The other demons would stop chanting and with bulging eyes, just stare. Then they would bust out laughing and continue to chant.
The disciples were gathered behind locked doors in the upper room along with some of the women that followed Jesus. They continued to try to figure out what went wrong. John asked, "Maybe we are missing something." One of the Marys said, "I remember Jesus saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again." John asked, "I wonder what He meant when He said third day?"
Peter had everyone to sit down in a group. With tears in his eyes he told everyone about him denying that he even knew Jesus. James tried to console Peter by saying, "We were all afraid for our lives." Mary pats Peter on the back of his hand and smiles but he could not be comforted until two angels came and set down beside him. Mary Magdalene opens the perfume that she is saving for Jesus' body and the aroma fills the room.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (PART 24)
Early Sunday morning you could just feel electricity in the air. The angels were everywhere. The demons became quiet for the first time in 3 days. They sensed something was up but didn't know what. Immediately they went and found Satan. He was busy planning the biggest celebration of all time.
In a rush Satan and his demons race to the tomb. The ground began to quake and tremble. He could see the angels everywhere and he didn't like that look they had on their faces. Then two mighty angels came down and when their feet hit the ground there was a mighty earthquake. They rolled the stone from the mouth of the tomb and a bright light (a blinding light) shown out from inside. The soldiers run for their lives. Satan continued to gawk but couldn't say a word.
Then Jesus walks out of the tomb and the angels go wild! They crowd in around Jesus and bow before Him. Jesus smiles and says something to them and they roar with excitement. And then the angels begin to chant, "Jesus is alive, Jesus is alive," and danced all around.
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS (FINAL PART)
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33:
Jesus proved by the resurrection from the dead that He is Lord and Savior. "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12
"Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." Acts 1:9-11
He is coming again soon! Are you ready to meet Him? If not pray this prayer and mean it with all your heart:
Dear God, I believe Jesus is Your Son and that He died on the cross in my place, for my sins and rose again. I know that I am a sinner and I ask you today to forgive me of all of my sins. I ask you Jesus to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. With Your help, I will turn from all my sins and live for You. Help me to believe in You and Your Word and give me assurance that I will someday be with You in heaven. Thank You for saving me today. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
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