The Passion Of Jesus

The Passion of Jesus

When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

Matthew 27:50

IN WORD The movies often portray a calm, collected Jesus—sad and in pain, but always glassy-eyed and dignified—in their depictions of the Crucifixion. And certainly we don’t doubt His confidence. He came into this world to die and rise again, and He knew that. He did not hang on that cross with doubts about His identity or God’s plan. No, He hung there only with pain.

But what pain it was! This was no dignified event; it was raw and excruciating. And the incarnate God—the One in whom infinite feelings were embodied in one frail, fleshly being—suffered. It wasn’t a calm, quiet suffering; it was loud and tortured. He screamed out the first line of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He thirsted. He refused sedatives that would have lessened the pain (but also the judgment). And then He yelled out again. The agonizing cry of Matthew 27:50 was His last shout before His resurrection. But it wasn’t His last shout forever. He will shout again (1 Thessalonians 4:16). And when He does, it will be exciting.

Do you know the emotional, joyful Jesus? He is passionate from His cross to His return. He is coming again with a loud command, a shout—a noisy, triumphant declaration of final victory. Jesus never just went through the motions—never. He is not a dispassionate Savior.

IN DEED Why should that matter to us? Because we’re often given a false picture of Jesus. Our traditions imply that God created us with deep emotions but never shared them while He was in the flesh. We often envision a Lord who is robotic and matter-of-fact, not a Lord who is in excruciating pain on one end of the emotional spectrum and noisily celebrating His victory on the other. But our Jesus is enthusiastic about His plan and exuberant about those He has redeemed. His joy is unbridled. As you think about His resurrection and His Kingdom this week, it’s okay if yours is, too.

Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn.

—JOHN WESLEY