Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross. 22 And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23 Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take [it]. 24 And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them [to determine] what every man should take. 25 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. 26 And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. 28 So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.” 29 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! [You] who destroy the temple and build [it] in three days, 30 “save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32 “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

– Mark 15:21-32 (NKJV)

At some point everyone needs to walk through a cruel place in history. You need to sit in a place that once held slaves and imagine the terror of that place. You need to walk through a battlefield and hear the screams of young soldiers echo through your ears. You need to smell the places where evil existed in a tangible form and feel the weight of what wickedness.

I think we are supposed to sit and meditate on this passage for a while. We are supposed to feel the injustice. It’s uncomfortable. We want to get to the good part. We want to punch through to the resurrection. We want to hear the good news that, “He is risen!” We don’t like being in the darkness. We don’t like the storm. We don’t want to be around the stench of death, betrayal, forsakenness for too long… But I think the gospel demands it.

If we jump to the joys what we know are coming too soon they will be shallow joys. We won’t ever know the depth of real joy until we can feel and know the depths of sorrow that Jesus went through on our behalf. If our nostrils are never made truly uncomfortable by the stench of what our sin has borne, we won’t fully appreciate what it is to be free from it. We will treat costly grace like it is cheap token given out at a convention.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Give us grace to feel the weight of our sins so that we might feel the great relief of having them paid for by Christ on the cross. Help our finite minds to grasp at grace. Give us gratitude in our hearts. Let us have real and lasting joy at what it is to be forgiven. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.