In the Footsteps of Jesus #21

^{Mark 15:20-32}

²⁰And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. ²¹A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. ²²They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). ²³Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

²⁵It was the third hour when they crucified him. ²⁶The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁷They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. ²⁹Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰come down from the cross and save yourself!"

³¹In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! ³²Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

"CALVARY AT THE CROSSROADS"

Nearly two thousand years have done little to lessen the impact Calvary had upon our group as we saw it for the first time. The caves in the hill give it the eerie appearance of a grinning skull. In Jesus day, the road past Calvary was one of the busiest in all of Israel. It was chosen as a place of execution for maximum visibility and effect. So adding insult to injury, as Jesus hung between those two thieves, the crowds passed by hurling words that cut as deep as any thorn.

Today Calvary is still at the crossroads of Jerusalem. At the very foot of Calvary is one of the main bus terminals for the city. Daily thousands load and unload in the shadow of the cross. Yet sadly the crowds don’t even stop to insult, they just ignore. Here where our salvation was wrought, people pass by without a second thought!

Yet in spite of the world’s ignorance, the cross still stands, as the old hymn puts it, “over the wrecks of time.” Oh, how so many lives could be changed if they would only take the time to stop and ponder what took place on that desolate hill. Friends, Calvary stands at the crossroads of time, and at the crossroads of your life and mine, don’t pass it by without pausing to pray even a simple word of thanks.

Question: What does Calvary mean to you?

Prayer: Jesus, keep us near the cross. Amen.