TTN - The Torah Network

4 yrs

PASSION --- THE VIEW AT CALVARY

I wonder how those who stood at Calvary and watched Yeshua die, felt about what they saw. Today we can sing so casually, [I will cherish the old rugged cross,] or, [Beneath the cross of Yeshua, I fain would take my stand.] Without blinking an eye, we can sing, [Yeshua keeps me near the cross... Bring its scenes before me.] Could those who gathered around Calvary have sung, [Bring its scenes before me?] I suspect that as they saw what happened at that place of horror, they might have said, [Take these scenes away from me. I never want to think of them again.] Luke's gospel tells us: [And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Yeshua had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy Hands I commend My Spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the Spirit. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified YHVH, saying, certainly this was a righteous man. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned. And all His acquaintance, and the women that followed Him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.] -- Luke 23:44-49. Yes, I am sure it was a day they wanted to forget. But they did not forget. They began to meet together and remember His death every first day of the week. The apostle Paul would even say: [For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Yeshua Moshiach, and Him crucified.] -- 1 Corinthians 2:2. As the facts began to come together for them, they began to think of Calvary as often as they could. We, too, must make a pilgrimage to Calvary. If we are going to see what they saw, then we are going to have to look, even though the scenes are not pleasant. We must look upon the view at Calvary. Only there can we grasp certain essential truths. Only there can the most important facts of history be presented to us in a dramatic and unforgettable way.

1 -- WE SEE MOSHIACH'S RIGHTEOUSNESS DESPISED:

It was despised by the Jews and their leaders. They had been waiting for the Holy One of YHVH; but when they beheld His Holiness; they despised it. How sad that many Jews were unable to accept the very one they had been waiting and praying for. Moshiach's Righteousness was despised by the Romans. They were not involved in the religious debate over Yeshua; yet they found cause to mock Him. Was there something in Yeshua' attitude that the callous Romans could not understand? These Romans admired power and perhaps they could not appreciate this one who stood as a sheep stands dumb before the shearers. Moshiach's Righteousness was even despised by one of His own disciples. Judas, who was at one time a trusted confidant, saw Moshiach as one to be bartered. How ironic that the One most worthy of our highest praise was subjected to our lowest humiliation. We should not be surprised that Moshiach was despised. The Prophet Isaiah prophesied 700 years before Moshiach that this would happen. [He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.] -- Isaiah 53:3. Men tend to hate those who are better than themselves. Men look at a sinless Moshiach, then at their own sin and instead of coming to Moshiach so that they might be cleansed of their own sinfulness; they despise the only one who can save them. When Mahatma Ghandi, the great advocate of non violent protest, was gunned down by an assassin, someone said, [Now we know how dangerous it is to be good.] We see that point even clearer in Moshiach. The only place this world has for people like Yeshua is on crosses. We have no room for Him anyplace else.

2 -- WE SEE MOSHIACH'S RIGHTEOUSNESS DISPLAYED:

Here in the most trying time of His life we see His holiness shine through. Moments of trial tend to accent the best and worst in a person. In Moshiach, we see His goodness so clearly that we stand in awe. There is only goodness in Him. His righteousness was displayed in His attitude toward His enemies. Would anyone has blamed Yeshua for some few sarcastic words to those who conspired to put Him to death? Yet, Yeshua showed only compassion for His enemies and asked the Father for their forgiveness. Earlier in His ministry, Yeshua had talked about loving our enemies. We might have thought that His words were an unattainable ideal if He had not shown us how to love our enemies. His righteousness was displayed in His attitude toward His friends. When we are in a time of great need, we hope our friends will support us. At Calvary, we do not see Yeshua' friends supporting Him, we see Yeshua supporting His friends. If we look closely enough, we see that as His own Body weighed heavily on that cross, He was supporting us. [For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.] -- Hebrews 4:15. Some have said Yeshua was not truly like us because He did not experience sin. But the fact is He did experience sin. On the cross He took our sins upon Himself. He experienced the weight of all the sins of the world at once. A man who had never committed sin confronted with the sins of the entire world. Yeshua' Righteousness was displayed for the whole world on the cross of Calvary. His Righteousness was displayed in His attitude toward suffering. Yeshua accepts suffering. He realizes that no one can escape it. Yeshua did not come to the cross cheerfully. If He had, we would have wondered about His sanity. No one enjoys suffering, not even Adonai. He did, however, accept suffering. He faced it in a way that inspires us all. Moshiach's Righteousness was displayed in His attitude toward death. Yeshua wanted to avoid Calvary, but it was not because He was afraid to die. He might have been reluctant to face the pain of death. He might have wanted to live longer, but He was not afraid to die. Listen to His final words: [Father, into Your Hands I commit My Spirit.] What a beautiful way to look at death. When we die, we are placing ourselves in the hands of the Father. We can look at Calvary and see the actions of Moshiach. Surely, we are led to say, [Thou art Moshiach, the Son of the living YHVH.] We are not the only ones to be affected by the scenes of Calvary. We have seen Moshiach's Righteousness despised and Moshiach's righteousness displayed.

3 -- NOW WE SEE MOSHIACH'S RIGHTEOUSNESS DECLARED:

Moshiach's Righteousness was declared by Pilate. He said, [I find no fault in Him.] Though he did not, as far as we know, believe in Yeshua, Pilate knew a good person when he saw one. Though he did not have the courage to set Moshiach free, he could not bear to judge this Holy One. In John 19 we read that Pilate had a placard placed above Yeshua' head and written on it in three different languages was the message, [Yeshua of Nazareth: the King of the Jews]. The Jews protested to Pilate, [Do not write: The King of the Jews, but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews, but Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.] -- John 19:21-22. That was a puny, but a truthful sign nailed over Yeshua' head. But realize the might is not in the sign, but in the person who holds it. If the placard seems inconsequential, its message is not. If the might of the Master seemed overwhelmed by the meanness of the cross, it is His power that turned that instrument of execution from a symbol of defeat into an emblem of triumph. The small sign did not hide the gigantic vigour of YHVH, for bleeding as His body may have been; there was the strength to redeem you and me. Moshiach's Righteousness was declared by the centurion. He said, [Surely this was a righteous man.] Admittedly, his faith was partial and incomplete; but he was strongly touched by the man on the cross. Nature even declared Moshiach's righteousness. When Yeshua died, all of YHVH's fury was set loose upon Calvary. From a harmony of the Gospel accounts, we learn that there was a great earthquake; rocks were split in two; the sun stopped shining; the tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people were raised to life. It was if YHVH's anger could be held back no more. The temple veil was torn in two. Surely a nagging thought crept into many minds: [What have we done?] YHVH did not finish there! Three days later came the ultimate declaration of Moshiach's righteousness. The Father raised Him from the dead. This, the most dramatic and startling event in history, was done so that YHVH could say once again, [This is My beloved Son.] Only after the resurrection did the meaning of the cross become clear. This Yeshua and His execution might have faded from memory without the resurrection. After He had risen, they could look back at the Cross and comprehend it. So, the disciples took this message with them. They declared to the world what they had seen. Down through the centuries the message of Yeshua, who conquered sin and death, has been passed on. So, it comes to all; a compulsion to go to Calvary. People long to go to Jerusalem and see the place where Yeshua died and I understand from those who have gone there that it is, indeed, a moving experience. But it is far more important to come spiritually to Calvary. After our spiritual pilgrimage to Calvary, we will leave changed. At Calvary, our eyes grow moist and our throat becomes choked with emotion.

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