Golgotha: Were You There?

Dr. Ray Pritchard

“They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)" (Mark 15:22).

It’s Friday morning, 9 A.M. Killing time in Jerusalem.

Outside the Damascus Gate is a road and on the other side of the road is a flat area near the spot where the prophet Jeremiah is buried. Up above you can see a rocky outcropping that, if studied at a certain angle, looks like a skull. Eroded into the limestone are two sockets for the eyes, a place for the nose and maybe a place for the mouth.

Skull Hill, they called it. Golgotha.

Consider these three words from Mark 15:25, “They crucified him.” The word “they” speaks of the people who crucified our Lord. The “they” included the Romans, the Jews, and it includes you and me. We all had our share in the death of Jesus.

The word “crucified” speaks of the painful death he suffered. Crucifixion was the ultimate punishment in that day. It represented the final judgment of the world on Jesus: “This man deserves to die.” Though he had done no wrong, They crucified him anyway.

The word “him” speaks of the person who died that day. This was no ordinary man. As the centurion cried out when Jesus died, “Surely, this was the Son of God!”

I heard a story recently about a man who visited Golgotha and the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. Overwhelmed, he began to weep. “Have you ever been here before?” someone asked. “Oh, yes,” he replied. “I was here 2000 years ago.”

The song Were You There? asks a question we ought to ponder today:

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Where you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Lord Jesus, we tremble to think of what you endured for our salvation. May we never be ashamed of Jesus or what he did for us so long ago. Amen.

  

You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free email sermon.

About Dr. Ray Pritchard

Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries, in Internet-based ministry serving Christians in 225 countries. He is the author of 27 books, including Stealth Attack, Fire and Rain, Credo, The Healing Power of Forgiveness, An Anchor for the Soul and Why Did This Happen to Me? Ray and Marlene, his wife of 37 years, have three sons-Josh, Mark and Nick, two daughters-in-law--Leah and Vanessa, and two grandsons--Knox and Eli. His hobbies include biking, surfing the Internet, and anything related to the Civil War.

Today no one gets saved

John Shore

Good Friday.

I didn’t casually choose the illustration: I never present violence, or anything meant to crudely shock.

I haven’t seen Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ; I assume this is a still from it.

Either way, it shows what happened to Jesus, doesn’t it? The only reason to show it in any way less graphic would be in order to make us feel better.

That’s all Christ does, is make us feel better.

But not today. Today Christ does not save us. Today Christ, and we, are beyond saving—and hope. And love. And everything else in the world worth anything at all.

Today we all go down.

From The Book of Mark. If there’s one day of the year on which you should attentively read this, it's today.

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace, and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”

Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And 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. A 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.

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left.

Those 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, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In 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! Let this Messiah, 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.

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

We are the people who killed Jesus.

John Shore

http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/john-shore/today-no-one-gets-saved.html

Resurrection Power

1

by: Alan Bullock

 

It is important to know that the Bible bases all its spiritual truths on historical facts. God’s Word, the Bible, does not proliferate ill-defined abstract theoretical ideas but irrefutable historical facts. The evidence in favor of the Resurrection of Jesus is as strong and conclusive as any historical fact established in the scriptures. It is evidence grounded in prophecy and confirmed by a great number of witnesses including devoutly virtuous women, many of His apostles and then by five hundred brethren at once. His resurrection was further confirmed by the vision and voice of angelic beings. Lifted by Love
Hung on an old rugged cross  to die
The homeless Jew His blood did supply;
Thus pardoning mankind for one and all,
Our uncancelled debt paid with bitter gall.
A stumbling block for the unbelieving,
A pardoning Savior for those receiving.
The lovely face, the tender heart,
A light of grace He did impart.
A vessel of love poured out again and again;
His Resurrection power freeing us from sin.
We remember with joy the conflicts He won,
A fiery Cherub — God’s holy Son.
Against the slings and taunts and jeers,
He sends us joy to calm our fears.
He’s sees our sadness from above
And sends us hope in the form of love.The resurrection of Jesus is important for many reasons. It witnesses to the immeasurable authority and supremacy of God. At His command, dead circumstances come back to life. If our spiritual experience with God is dead, He has the power to resurrect it if only we become a willing vessel. Leonard Ravenhill said, “Calvary expresses the love of God while the resurrection explains the power of God.” What a powerful statement! God can resurrect your broken dreams, hopes and aspirations.After Lazarus died, his body lied cold and decomposing, but our Lord has power over death. Imagine Lazarus lying in a cold tomb. Not a sound. No movement. Then he hears the voice of God — a voice so powerful that his hands and feet began to move. His mind begins to function and his faculties begin to obey God’s command. In an instant, in a mili-second of time, He felt the power of God. Those standing by heard Christ speak and say, “Lazarus, come forth!” It was then that they saw the power of our Lord. That same voice calls us today to abandon our dead spiritual relationship with both God and man. Let the resurrection power of God lift you out of life’s sorrows and bring you renewed hope, joy and power!And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you (Romans 8:11).Hope and faith lead the believer to a path of joy and fulfillment and, when fully realized, bring new life to all who trust in the Lord.

MEET THE AUTHOR

ALAN BULLOCK

Alan has pioneered several churches and has also been blessed to travel the world preaching and teaching in churches and conferences as a missionary evangelist for over thirty two years.

Copyright © 2011 by Alan Bullock

http://www.daystar.com/devotions/resurrection-power/