Experience Easter: Joining Jesus’ JourneySample

Heart-breaking.
Gut-wrenching.
Soul-splitting.

In a moment like this, all of our words and pictures speak of something being torn apart or separated. Throughout Jesus’ journey to the Cross, there is never a break between God the Father and God the Son - in fact, Jesus’ famous claim that got Him into trouble was that if you had seen Him, you had seen the Father. They were One, until this moment, when Jesus feels abandoned by His dad. 

The painter expresses this despair not only with the look on Jesus’ face, but in the broken imagery - broken walls, broken body, a sense of Jesus being cut off and not fully in view. By obscuring His hands, you can almost see Jesus like a small child, lifting his arms, desperate to be picked up by His daddy. Of everything Jesus has endured, separation from God the Father was the climax. He is no longer looking at the mocking crowd behind Him, or His grieving mother and dearest friends beside Him. He searches the sky for the One who has turned away.

Imagine that you feel what Jesus feels in this moment.

Have you ever searched desperately for a sign of God’s presence? 

Have you ever felt like God has turned away from you? 

What situation is going on in your life that is causing you to ask God, “WHY?”

Consider that Jesus knows exactly what this feels like. 

It’s a strange thing to think that Jesus felt abandoned by God. But it’s significant to note that Jesus FELT abandoned. He was not abandoned, but separated. He had gone from oneness, to aloneness. This is the ultimate pain - not just for Jesus, but for all of us. We were designed for oneness with God, to be in community, in relationship, in loving presence with God. We were not meant to be alone. Jesus’ faithful mother was there, with His best friend, John, and some of the most consistent and courageous of His followers - a group of women. Yet He still felt completely alone.

Have you ever been surrounded by people who love you, are there for you, maybe know you better than anyone, and still felt alone?

In your darkest moment, can you take the posture of Jesus in this painting?

Prayer:

Jesus, You truly have walked in my shoes, experiencing all that a human can experience. There is no loneliness greater than that of losing yourself - and You lost Yourself on that cross. I know now that death, the ultimate brokenness  isn’t the end of Your story. Thank You for walking so far into the darkness, so that no darkness I walk will ever be a path I walk alone. Even as I suffer, may I be reminded that You are with me. I can come to You with my questions, my desperation, my hurt and my suffering. Nothing is too much for You.
Amen.