April 19 - Golgotha

Oh, To See the Dawn [The Power of the Cross]

Oh, to see the dawn

Of the darkest day:

Christ on the road to Calvary.

Tried by sinful men,

Torn and beaten, then

Nailed to a cross of wood.

This, the power of the cross:

Christ became sin for us,

Took the blame, bore the wrath:

We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain

Written on Your face

Bearing the awesome weight of sin;

Every bitter thought,

Every evil deed

Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees,

Now the ground beneath

Quakes as its Maker bows His head.

Curtain torn in two,

Dead are raised to life;

‘Finished!’ the victory cry.

Oh, to see my name

Written in the wounds,

For through Your suffering I am free.

Death is crushed to death,

Life is mine to live,

Won through Your selfless love.

This, the power of the cross:

Son of God, slain for us.

What a love! What a cost!

We stand forgiven at the cross.

Stuart Townend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, songs@integritymusic.com)

Golgotha

Luke 23.26-49

“When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him” (Luke 26.33, NASB).
Such a chilling image when you close your eyes and picture it.

It is the picture of a sinless Savior becoming sin for us. Not simply offering forgiveness and definitely not making an example to be taken in principle. He is being stretched out and broken, pierced through and drained. He is not having His life taken from Him, rather He is willingly giving it up by laying it down as He becomes sin for us. For the world. Without question.

There the crucified Him.

In just a few stanzas, Stuart Townend and Keith Getty have been able to grasp the beauty and the terror of the day of crucifixion. This modern hymn is one of my favorite songs of any genre ever written because it holds both the time of agony and the resulting glory in its words. “Every bitter thought, every evil deed crowning Your bloodstained brow…Oh, to see my name written in the wounds, for through Your suffering I am free.” All of this because of the dark day of the crucifixion.
There, on that darkest of days, light was shining. It glimmered hope for the criminal who appealed to Christ and His Kingdom. It shone to the centurion who began to praise God in v. 47 and exclaimed, “Certainly this man was righteous!” The Light that had come into the world was not extinguished, rather it was completing its work that would shine on forever.

Today, as you consider the bone-chilling sound of the nails piercing His hands, find your name in His wounds. As you reflect on the agony of the thorns thrust upon His head, find the forgiveness of your sin flowing in the blood. As you encounter the darkness that sin brought upon the earth, look to the Light of the world as He shines brighter and brighter because of the Cross!

Pray: Jesus, You died for me that I might live. Satan sought to drown out Your light, but You shine brighter as You wash away my sin. Thank You for taking my death. But, Jesus, do not let me think that that is all there is. You didn’t just take my death, You gave me Your life! Strengthen me today to live in the life You have offered. You are all I need to do that.