Fearless Believers!




When the centurion, who was standing opposite him, saw the way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” There were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.  In Galilee these women followed him and took care of him. Many other women had come up with him to Jerusalem. Mark 15: 39-41

In the span of a mere 6 hours on a long ago Friday much had happened. In the day leading to the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ, had been falsely accused, hastily tried, Jesus was even preferred over a career criminal to be crucified!

Compelled to carry his cross, until exhaustion overcame Him, Jesus has had the presence of mind while enduring agony upon agony to:

Take upon himself the sins of the entire world

Provide forgiveness for a repentant thief

Ensure that His mom would have a home to live in after his death.

All the while why the prince of life is dying there are observers. To be sure, not many sympathetic people are there, having been stirred up into a frenzy there is a distinct atmosphere that can only be understood as a hate-filled mob, who are not silent in watching Jesus die! It is not enough tom observe his agony up close, they deride him with taunts and insults, and remarks, verbal assaults, hour after hour.

Thankfully there are a few brave souls who have watched through tear filled eyes the proceedings.

Those are the people we will learn from today. What they saw, what they learned, what they offer to teach us today, is insightful and compelling!

*While the male disciples are conspicuously absent from this point in the story on, Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that many of the women are still present. And John places four of them “near the cross” along with “the disciple Jesus loved” (John 19:25). This smaller group is close enough to have a private conversation with Jesus, which reveals that their nearness is not only positional, but also emotional. 

Many of the details we have about the death, burial, and resurrection are recorded because these women had the courage to stay near the cross; and after that, to stay near the tomb, even when it seemed that all was lost.

Counting the Cost- We Must Evaluate our own positional closeness to Jesus and to count the cost of discipleship. Will we follow in the steps of those who were “with him”? Will we risk reputations, relationships, even our very lives to follow? Will we stand near, watch from a distance, or run in the other direction? *Gail Wallace 

Looking back you remember how with tender hand He lifted you!

In loving-kindness Jesus came my soul in mercy to reclaim,
and from the depths of sin and shame through grace He lifted me. 

Refrain:
From sinking sand He lifted me,
with tender hand He lifted me,
from shades of night to plains of light,
O praise His name, He lifted me!

What then is the take away from the witnesses, on that long ago Friday?

Stand for Jesus, no matter what, and stay close, and ask Him to make you a Fearless Believer!

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