Alone on the Cross- Alone in a crowd

 

     Alone on the Cross

 

  On that cross alone, forsaken,

      Where no pitying eye was found

      Now to God’s right hand exalted

             With thy praise the heavens resound.

                                                                                                 E.M.C. Thompson, c. 1881.

      The cross of Jesus Christ presents us with stark paradoxes: dead but alive; guilty but innocent; among soldiers, passers-by, two criminals, and a jeering crowd, but alone on a Roman cross.

    Are you alone this Easter in your pain or sorrow, or separated from family and friends because of your beliefs or unique circumstances? You live among neighbours or work colleagues, but you don’t belong. Or has distance kept you apart? Jesus experienced constant rejection and desertion that led to his crucifixion. Yet his death was not the end, because he rose again and he lives both in heaven and among us in spirit.  

   Jesus met with his closest companions for the Passover Supper on the night before his arrest. After Judas Iscariot left to alert the authorities of his whereabouts, Jesus led Peter, James, and John to Gethsemane, a garden on the lower western slope of the Mount of Olives. Overwhelmed by the weight of his approaching torture, Jesus invited his friends to keep him company.

 “I am overwhelmed to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

 And he withdrew a short distance to pray with his Heavenly Father. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Not my will, but yours be done.”

 Yet, when he returned to Peter, James and John, they were asleep, overwhelmed with sorrow.

 Despite their presence, Jesus was alone in his mental anguish at Gethsemane.

  Judas arrived with a large crowd, armed with swords and clubs. Though Jesus challenged the mob, he submitted to arrest because he was purposely laying down his life on our behalf. The disciples fled, and the hostile mob led him away to face six trials lasting all night before they crucified him.

Peter and John followed at a safe distance, and when Jesus was brought before Caiaphas, the high priest, Jesus testified he was the Son of God. The priests spat in his face and struck him with their fists. Yet Jesus, accused of blasphemy, had only spoken the truth. Alone in a crowded court.

 Outside in the courtyard, Peter waited. At the Last Supper, he’d promised to stand with Jesus. A servant girl, eyeing him with suspicion, admitted him inside close to the fireplace.

 “Weren’t you with Jesus of Galilee?”

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He escaped through a second gate, where another girl spotted him.

 “He was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

  “I don’t know the man!”

 A group gathered around Peter. “You must be his disciple because your accent betrays you.”

Peter swore to them. “I do not know that man!”

 A rooster crowed, and Peter remembered his promise to Jesus, who had already warned him he would deny his Master.

 “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”

 Across the crowded court, Jesus and Peter’s eyes met, and the disciple went outside and wept.

 Jesus, forsaken by his closest friends, was left to the merciless cruelty of his enemies. They jammed a razor-sharp crown of thorns onto his head, dressed him in a purple robe, and mocked him.

“Hail, King of the Jews.” 

The rightful monarch of all creation stood alone among rebellious subjects before they stripped him of his garments and his dignity. And they whipped him, until they marred him beyond recognition. 

 Beyond Jerusalem, they nailed his hands and feet to the cross, the gruesome thud of mallets mingling with the agonizing groans of two thieves and the soldiers’ bloodthirsty orders. Two robbers flanked him as the soldiers raised him aloft. These criminals also mocked him until Jesus’ innocence convicted one of them of his own sin. He pleaded with Jesus for forgiveness, and Jesus promised to meet him that very day in Paradise. The redeemed thief would not enter the spiritual realm alone.

 Meanwhile, Jesus suffered derision under the scrutiny and jeers of passersby.

At midday, the sky blackened. Neither earth nor heaven could look at him while God subjected him to his ultimate wrath. This world’s sins were laid on Jesus while God allowed hell’s fury to torture his beloved Son.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

If Jesus had been devoid of human comfort on the road to Calvary, he alone faced our righteous Judge and our accuser, Satan.

Jesus was utterly alone in both all creation and the heavenly realms. His entire earthly mission had been carried out under his Father’s abiding presence, but during history’s most horrifying moment, while the battle between good and evil raged in the heavens, he suffered alone.

 With a last mighty cry, he relinquished his spirit. “It is finished!”

The earth shook, and the temple curtain ripped from top to bottom. Where sinful worshippers had once been protected from a Holy God, Jesus satisfied God’s wrath at Calvary, because he died to make us pure in God's sight. He is the ultimate Friend of sinners who has redeemed and remained with his friends ever since, the very ones who once despised him. God has always desired our love and close relationship. 

What great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1

Our sin had robbed him of that fellowship, and Jesus restored it through his lonely mission, death, and resurrection. It was love that bound him to the cross and gave him strength to endure the agony on our behalf.

  

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to hundreds of people, and he gifted them with the Holy Spirit. He has not left us alone. Are you isolated by guilt? Ask him to forgive you, and he will cleanse you from all sin. John 3:16. 1 John 1:7. 

  Are you lonely? Read the Gospels with an open heart. Talk to Jesus wherever you walk, work, and live. When loneliness taps on your heart, knock on Jesus’ door. He is always at home and will welcome you. We find him in the scriptures when he reveals his loving heart, and we can thank him for his company, protection, and guidance. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter.

Search for a Bible based church and connect with someone who loves Jesus. They can introduce you to him.

 On Calvary’s cross, Jesus paid the ultimate price to offer you his love and friendship, to welcome you into his family so that you would never be alone. Will you accept his invitation today?

 This Easter is much more than chocolate, bunnies, and a holiday. It is loneliness turned into companionship, guilt replaced by forgiveness and sorrow replaced by joy. Let’s enjoy lasting peace and true companionship with the Saviour.

 

                                            He will never leave you nor forsake you.

 

 

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