Nails in his hands...tell me how much he loves me

When you start thinking about Easter you just can't get around Good Friday. You can't have the celebration of Easter without the sadness of the crucifixion. See to me the crucifixion is the part that makes Easter what it is. The real sacrifice that we should appreciate came on the cross. That is why I love this song. The nails in his hands and in his feet, the thorns in his brow tell us just how much he loves us. The suffering he endured was immeasurable. Imagine the day he was crucified....what the onlookers must have been thinking. Here is the man who has come to save them...to lead them to redemption and he is dying like a criminal on a cross. The advantage we have is that we know Easter is coming....we know about his Resurrection but that first Easter they didn't know what was to come. We must not let the celebration of his Resurrection overshadow his ultimate sacrifice. We can't have the Resurrection without the crucifixion. So Easter is a time to celebrate and praise God for his son...but I also have to praise him for giving his son to us in the way that he did....as a sacrificial lamb. What a sacrifice he made for me....all for me!

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
-- Isaiah 53:5