Were You There? by J.P. Kidd

Blood splashed on the floor
As the man who we call Lord
Bent down to pray
For His crucifying day.

He was then betrayed
By one who once obeyed
Then came the mobs angry roar
A noise to be abhorred.

It shook the disciples to their feet
Peter charged at a crowd that he couldn't beat
He sliced an ear and started a war
Which Jesus healed without leaving a scar.

Then Jesus went without a fight
A holy and crushing sight
He told Peter he would deny
Before the rooster crowed three times.

The disciples turned coat and fled
Leaving Jesus for dead
He was brought before the people
Given one chance to be free.

But because of His father's will
He was sent to be killed
They cracked and broke Him
Slicing and stabbing without compassion.

Then He carried
Up a gloomy hill
His cross of judgment
The price for sin sagging on His shoulder

Then the nails pounded in
His hand limp by His sides
They propped Him up
Next to two thieves, one which He would glorify.

After he was forsaken
By His Master from above
He gave up His spirit
And died on that tree.

Devastated and lonely
The disciples sat without hope
Until the third day came
And Jesus awoke.

Raised, He taught and loved them
Until He had to return
Leaving them with a gift
And a command to spread His word.

GUILT, GRACE, AND EASTER

All sin comes with a price. And the price must be paid because God decreed that the "wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). This means that death is the final payment that every person must pay--there is no escape. Just as Tax Day (April 15) came again this year without fail, so too will Payment Day come for every person, for God says, "It is appointed for man to die once, and afterwards comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). We are all sinners, which means we are all guilty of crimes against our Creator, and death is His punishment.

One of the most frightening components about this predicament is that no one knows when he must pay the price. Death is that all-illusive reality that seems to come and go as it pleases. It hovers over our heads like a nagging bug just waiting to land on us. And no matter how hard we try to shoo it away, that nagging suspicion that it's still there remains. Guilt is relentless that way. Our consciences simply will not let us escape the feeling that we will soon have to pay for our sins. No one lives forever, right? We could wish that we were all innocent, and yet, the Scriptures, the history of man, and our alarming consciences conspire against such a naive notion. The fact of the matter is we all are guilty and judgment is coming. "Death is the end of every man, and the living should take it to heart," so warns King Solomon.

But Easter reminds us that the guilty are not hopeless. Mercifully, God has provided a way for guilty sinners to have their payment paid in full and escape death. This remarkable provision is called grace. It is the loving action of God expressed to undeserving sinners whereby He delivers them from the just penalty for their sins, namely death. The magnificent news of Easter is that, through Jesus Christ, God paid the price for everyone who would ever believe in Him by putting His own Son to death on the Cross. Sacred Scripture reads, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust . . ." (1 Peter 3:18). God intervened in grace to help the helpless, free the imprisoned, and pardon the guilty. But the cost was great. It cost Jesus Christ His own life, for "by the grace of God Jesus tasted death for everyone" (Hebrews 2:9).

But that leaves an apparent dilemma--all men still die! So, what good did Jesus' death really do? Unspeakable good! Easter is the answer. The culmination of God's grace in action through Jesus Christ for us was demonstrated most powerfully in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus proved that His payment for our sins was accepted by God. Since He paid our debt in full, death has no more hold on Him, or on those who believe in Him. And that's why we celebrate Easter. That which once kept us in fear, namely death, no longer should be feared by the believer in Christ. The payment has been made. Grace has triumphed over guilt--"God raised Jesus up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power" (Acts 2:24). Therefore, now, death is for the believer in Jesus a passageway into the very presence of God. The resurrection of Jesus has made it so.

Easter is the celebration of Payment Day for the believer. Jesus Christ took away our guilt and paid our debt, and God's grace deserves all the glory. The ever-present foe of death has been beaten by the risen Christ. Let every believer rejoice this Easter and humbly say, "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting." Thanks be to God who has given us the victory in Christ Jesus risen from the dead.