The Via Dolorosa

"Via Dolorosa by Leeland

He traded His crown for a crown of thorns
He picked up His cross and laid down His sword
He stumbled down the road, bruised and beaten for me
Jesus walked the way of grief
Hallelujah!

On the via dolorosa
All my sin was carried away
And the power of hell was broken
As He gave His life away

He knew it was to come from the very start
But His love for all the world beat inside His heart
He climbed the road of suffering to the hill of calvary
Where the saints would be redeemed
Hallelujah!

Jesus fixed His eyes upon the new horizon
Soon He would arise, and the world would be forgiven
Hallelujah, Jesus rose again!
On the cross He shed His blood at calvary
And I'm thankful for the journey of my King
On the via dolorosa

Today is Good Friday. The day we celebrate Christ walking down the via dolorosa--a path that led to His death (for a few days). I was thinking earlier and realized I've never really celebrated it. My friends and I watched The Passion of the Christ last night, a movie that I had never seen. I never realized what "beaten" actually meant, and to be honest, I still don't fully understand what He went through, but I have a better idea now.

If you watch the video I posted up above, you'll see two men beating Jesus and laughing while they're doing it. That was me. That was you. Our sin is what forced that nail in His hand, in His feet. Isaiah 53:5 says, "But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities."

Here's the good news for us in the second part of that verse:
"Punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds."

Verse 6 goes on to say, "We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all." (emphasis added)

We turned our backs on God in the beginning, yet God sent His own Son down to earth to live a perfect and pleasing life to God so that He would die and be the only perfect sacrifice. And conquer death three days later. And if we so choose to accept this free gift that the Lord has blessed us with, we not only get the Holy Spirit within us on earth, but we get assurance of eternal life in Heaven.

This is the reason I'm going to New York City this summer. I want people to understand all of this and live their lives for God.

I hope you have a wonderful Easter.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him may not perish, but have eternal life. -John 3:16