Desolation

Good Friday is usually a day I spend in prayer and contemplation. I try to spend some time remembering the price that was paid for my life. I try to get a grasp of what He suffered for me. I think of the desolation that His disciples must have felt when He died and was laid in the tomb. Unlike the disciples, I KNOW what happened. But I can’t imagine how they must have felt, with all of their hopes and dreams destroyed.

This year, I keep remembering something that Jesus said to His disciples right before they went to the Garden. He knew what was coming. He knew the choice He had to make, and the stakes of His decision. Worst of all, He knew that He would be forsaken.

In those final hours, He said, “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone...” (John 16:32a, NAS). He knew that He would be totally alone, abandoned by His closest earthly friends. His words proved devastatingly true, as all of His devoted disciples turned tail and ran when He was arrested.

But Jesus also said, “and yet, I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.” (John 16:32b, NAS). Many Biblical scholars believe that, in Jesus’ final moments on the cross, even the Father forsook Him for a period of time, as Jesus paid the ultimate price. He who said "I and the Father are One" was deserted, alone and suffering, for me.

Although there are many songs that speak of His sacrifice, there are two particular pieces of music that I would like to recommend, to bring your heart into a place of worship:

(1) Handel’s “Messiah”. Handel originally intended this incredible symphony for Easter, and it movingly communicates the depths of man’s sinfulness as well as the triumph of the third day, when the stone was rolled away.
(2) “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”. I specifically suggest the version sung by the 2nd Chapter of Acts on their “Hymns II” album. This song brought me to tears just a few moments ago, as I tried to write this message.

Whatever song or passage of His Word that will quiet your heart and bring you into a place of understanding and worship, I strongly urge you to take time to remember His sacrifice as well as the ultimate victory.

O sacred Head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down.
Now scornfully surrounded,
With thorns Thine only crown.

How art Thou pale with anguish,
With sore abuse and scorn.
How does Thy visage languish,
Which once was bright as morn.

What Thou my Lord hast suffered
Was all for sinners’ gain.
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But Thine the deadly pain.

Lo, here I fall my Saviour,
Tis I deserve Thy place.
Look on me with Thy favor,
Vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

What language shall I borrow
To thank Thee, dearest Friend,
For this, Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?

Oh, make me Thine forever,
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, ever,
Outlive my love for Thee.

~~”O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” as sung by the 2nd Chapter of Acts (Album: Hymns II)