When we think of Easter and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we often think of the iconic hymn The Old Rugged Cross. The lyrics are rich:
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame,
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For the world of lost sinners was slain.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.
Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wonderous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above,
To bear it to dark Calvary.
In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wonderous beauty I see;
For ’twas on that old rugged cross Jesus suffered and died, to pardon and sanctify me.
George Bennard, 1912
Yet simply knowing and singing the hymn isn’t nearly enough. The cross on Calvary was where the unfathomable happened. Good Friday. The day Christ went to the cross for us. Words cannot convey the enormity. God died for us!
The Seven Last Words of Christ:
In His last hours, Jesus uttered seven statements that have become known as the seven last words of Christ:
- Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
- Verily I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
- Woman, behold thy son.
- My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
- I thirst.
- It is finished.
- Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.
Then He was laid in The Tomb:
There was a good and righteous man named Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin, who had not agreed with their plan and action. He was from Arimathea, a Judean town, and was looking forward to the kingdom of God. He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. Taking it down, he wrapped it in fine linen and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever been placed. It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed along and observed the tomb and how his body was placed. Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. Luke 23:50-56 CSB
Wait for it.