Today is Good Friday. I suppose it’s “Good” because of the good that came of the crucifixion of Christ on the cross. He paid the penalty for ALL my sin as well as the sins of the whole world population, past, present, future. Our pastor reminded me last Sunday that my sin was PAID IN FULL, which was particularly emotional for me since my sin is so great. I imagined a HUGE (as my daughter used to say, “hooooooj”) PIF stamp applied to my life’s “bill” in red ink. Yes, it’s a Good day.
This morning, as I was driving to work listening to American Family Radio Talk, I was surprised but very much moved to hear a portion of the song “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”. I started thinking, “Why would someone in the 21st century ask, ‘were you there when they crucified my Lord’? None of us were there when they crucified my Lord!” (Actually, after some research I discovered that this song was probably derived from an old slave spiritual which would have made it a 19th century song…) As the words played over in my head, “Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?…Were you there when they pierced Him in the side?…Were you there when the sun refused to shine?…”I started to realize, “Yes, I WAS there! My sin was there! He was thinking of ME, and YOU! As the group Sidewalk Prophets proclaim in their song, “You Loved Me Anyway”, I was the thorn in your brow, I was the nail in your wrist…. And then I asked God, “how many of those lashes with the cat of nine tales did Jesus take for me?” I was there! I was there…………….. and You loved me anyway.
A few years ago, during the height of my deepest struggles, I had a dream. I was in the crowd when Jesus was coming down the road carrying the cross. He fell right in front of me and the heavy wooden cross landed on His bloody, beaten back. He looked up at me and with every ounce of energy left in his body as though in defiance (though I know it was in complete, unmerited, unconditional, sacrificial love) He pushed Himself up under the weight of that tree and continued His labored walk toward Golgotha. Then all at once, I was at the foot of the cross on my knees, crying. I looked up at my Savior and with tears streaming down my face, I said, “I’m sorry”. Jesus looked down at me with the most tender and loving sweaty, dirty, bleeding, thorny face and said, “It’s o.k.” That was the beginning of my road back “home”
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Yes, I was there when they crucified my Lord and “oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble”.
Thank you Lord Jesus that you took all of my sin with you on that old rugged cross so that today, some 2000 years later, as I remember that my debt is Paid In Full, I can say, it is Good Friday.
Lisa Leland
Where you there when they crucified my Lord lyrics:
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh were you there when they crucified my Lord?
(Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble)
Tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?
(Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble)
Tremble
Were you there when they nailed Him to the cross?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
(Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble)
Tremble
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Well, were you there when the stone was rolled away?
Were you there when the stone was rolled away?
(Ohh, sometimes it causes me to tremble)
Tremble
Were you there when the stone was rolled away?
Zechariah's Song Ministries 