The devil thought he was in control, he thought he had won.
I won't blame him though, it's been more than 24hrs since I last laid my eyes on Jesus.
After the whole commotion his death had caused, I've been expecting him to maybe make an appearance and prove these haters wrong.
But he didn't come down from the cross, didn't even move when those loud soldiers poked his skin causing blood and water to drip out. He had very much died, I saw it all up close.
I still can't believe what he had done, he actually took my place, that's wild.
I was one of the many people that had unashamedly questioned his claims of being the Son of God. I had even joined in choosing Barabbas, a fellow offender like myself, over him.
You see, I had gone out of my way to do everything in contrary to what he preached.
Do not steal, I stole.
Do not lie, I lied.
Do not commit fornication, well, I was quite notorious in my neighborhood for how easily I changed lovers.
He had asked us ultimately to love God with all our soul, spirit and body. I had gone ahead to do the complete opposite. I detested his followers. I stayed clear of any gathering where he was the subject matter. I always felt too filthy to go into the temple to worship, so since I couldn't join them, I hated them.
I had allowed money to be my God, going to any length just to get an extra cash in, using my body and mind as collateral.
So you can clearly see how far gone I was.
Now, here comes this man, very unassuming, a Nazarene, who's place of origin hasn't really produced any remarkable person. He met me on my way, bringing with him this hope of a clean slate if I just said yes to following him with all my heart.
That sounded too good to be true.
I even went ahead to list out all my wrongdoings to him, giving him every reason to drop his offer, but he remained adamant.
The day after we had talked, I couldn't sleep. My eyes were fixated on the ceiling as I recounted his words to me;
"Follow me my child, I want to do a new thing with you. I will take your place for the consequences of your sins. Old things can pass away. With me, all things will become new".
Like I said, too good to be true.
And did I mention to you that my name was on the death roll. Yh, that's right. I had gone and outdid myself this time, took more than I could chew.
I'm too ashamed to go into the details of what I had done, but just know that according to the law, the wages of my sin was death. And just when I had accepted my fate, this man comes along offering a way of escape.
To believe or not to believe?.
My night sleep in those closed off walls of my prison room was very much disturbed. I kept imagining the look of disappointment on my parent's face when they see me publicly disgraced and sentenced to death.
I was always the black sheep in the family, bringing upon them shame and reproach, but this time around, I had actually gone too far and now I had to bear the consequences.
Or what if I didn't have to?.
I had actually started indulging the thoughts that maybe, just maybe, this man wasn't lying. Maybe there was some truth to what he was offering.
The day of my execution drew near, and with it came an apprehension for what was to come. I was in need of a savior and just when I was ready to throw in the towel and give up, I somehow cajoled myself into accepting this man's offer.
Right at the foot of my prison bed, I came undone before him, professing my love and allegiance to his kingship.
Whether he was lying or not, I didn't even want to know again, I was desperate. I might as well try one more absurd act before my demise.
Morning met me, and my anxiety knew no bounds. The other prisoners went out for their morning walk while I stayed put in my room, waiting to be summoned.
But the call never came.
Afternoon went by and just before the evening bell rang, a huge commotion started out. All the prisoners were freed, myself included.
That couldn't be right.
Loud shouts were coming from the prison courtyard and so we all hurriedly made our way there. A few side talks on the way made me understand that a man had asked to replace everyone in the prison.
No, it couldn't be him.
My heart was pounding, I could hear it in my ears. I hurriedly increased my pace, I needed to see for myself, to confirm with my head what my heart was willing to believe. My eyes were stinging with tears that were threatening to overflow.
We finally got there and the sight I beheld broke the barriers that were holding in my tears. I fell to my knees in utter brokenness and weeped at the sight before me.
There, tied to a platform was the very man that had promised to take my place. Not only did he stay in my stead, but he did the same for the the other prisoners.
His back was bared open as he received multiple countless strokes of the Soldier's whip.
I was shaking uncontrollably with so much guilt. He claimed he loved me which was the reason for the exchange, but I've never seen this kind of love before.
And trust me, that was not even the worst part.
At this point, a huge crowd had formed. They were taking him to be crucified.
Some people spat at him, slapped him, called him names and at a point, his entire clothing was wrenched off his body.
You see, it would have been more understandable if it was me all these atrocities was being done to. But this man, he didn't do anything. From what I heard, he was actually innocent, and yet, for the sake of his love for me, he had made the exchange. Mind you, I hadn't met with him before, so I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that this man had loved me even while I was yet a sinner.
All the way to the place where sinners were crucified, I balled my eyes out. At a point I even emptied my stomach content on the side walk.
The entire process of crucifying him was devastating. And just at 3'oclock that Friday afternoon, he bowed his head and uttered these words;
"it is finished".
Hell broke lose immediately. A massive earthquake swept over the whole city, shaking the foundations of buildings to their core. People were running everywhere to get to safety. There was total darkness at some point. Some long dead relatives were seen by their loved ones, and ultimately, a loud sound of clothe tearing came from the temple.
The veil at the temple which kept the sinners out had divided into two.
A whole lot was happening in that time space and I was scared.
But it's been more than 24hrs now and the whole city is quiet. I’m back home with my family, but I'm still in shock from all that had transpired in the space of two days.
The same train of thoughts were heavy on my heart;
"It should have been me. He was innocent, I wasn't. I deserved to die, He didn't ".
I couldn't eat, talk more of interacting with my family. They tried indulging me but I was quite unresponsive.
Night came and everyone retired to bed, but I couldn't sleep.
At the early hours of the morning, I wrapped a shawl round my shoulder, put on a pair of shoes and quietly slipped out of the house. My feet were taking me to the place were my heart was calling which was the very tomb they had placed his body in. A rich guy had asked for his body from the higher ups and they had more than willingly given it to him.
By the time I had gotten there, the day was just about to break. I saw some soldiers at the front of the tomb so I hid at the side.
But something was wrong.
They were heatedly whispering amongst themselves and their faces were streaked with fear, as white as one who had seen a ghost. Few mins later, they all but dropped dead before me.
I came out of my hiding place to see what had scared them. And right before my very eyes, the huge stone had been rolled over.
That couldn't be right.
I was there when they had used a very loud machine to put that stone in place, so who could have done this without anyone hearing or noticing.
As I contemplated within myself, I heard some distant footsteps headed my way and immediately, I went back to my hiding spot.
I recognized the two women instantly, they were always seen with Jesus. I believe one was Mary and the other was Mary Magdalene, or something of that nature.
Sure enough, their reaction at seeing the rolled stone was just as mine.
Whilst they talked amongst themselves, a being that looked very divine appeared before them and proclaimed these words;
"Do not be afraid, I know you seek Jesus the crucified. But he is not here. He is risen, come and see where he was laid so you will believe me and go tell the others".
I gasped alongside them.
My ears must be failing me.
But as I watched on, they went in, came back out and excitedly confirmed the being's words.
I was perplexed.
Quickly, they departed from the tomb, running to tell the other disciples of what they had seen and heard. I followed closely behind.
They had not gotten far when they were stopped in their tracks by a man.
On close inspection, they realized it was Jesus himself standing before them, whole, not looking like the man that was on that cross. The only sign on him that could point to what he had gone through were the holes on his palms.
I fell on my knees in worship and reverence at the same time with the women.
He had actually risen.
He was alive.
The tomb was empty and he was standing before me. Death could not hold him down. He had gone in there in my place, fought and defeated my accuser, claimed my soul back and was now alive and well.
This just gives me a new hope for my tomorrow. Because he lives, I can face tomorrow against all the fears and temptations that will come my way. Now I know that I can trust him with my future.
My life is worth living because he called me worthy, he called me saved, he said I was his beloved, the one he can lay everything for.
Well then, this is my story, and this is my daily song. I will live my life praising him everyday, and whenever the devil wants to remind me of my sins, I will always remember the exchange that was made on my behalf.
Today, harden not your heart to him, what he did for me, he did for you too. He loves you and is waiting for you to reciprocate his love.
#Shalom🤍.
Signed: Abba's Handpiece
Happy Easter people, I enjoyed writing every bit of this price, it was all Holy Spirit inspired, my hands were just his handpiece.
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