FACES AROUND THE CROSS:THE CLERGY
by: Worth Green, Th.M., D.Min.
Mark 15:31-36
During the season of Lent I invite you to look with me at a few of the faces around the cross. We do not know how many witnessed the Execution of Jesus, we do know that people responded in a variety of ways.
The vast majority of the crowd who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus regretted it and were saddened by it. They thought his death the bad end of a good man. No doubt many of them remembered it for the rest of their lives, like we who lost no loved ones in the tragedy remember the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The twelve, the women, and those who followed Jesus from Galilee took it harder. These were they who regarded Jesus not just as a prophet, but as the Messiah, the Son of God, who would deliver Israel from Roman occupation, and lead the nation into a new era of peace and prosperity. He was also their companion and friend. The grief of this second group was deeper than that of the first group but it did not last nearly so long. As Jesus himself once said to his them:
Truly, truly, I say unto you that you shall weep and lament…you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. (John 16:20)
