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“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” John 1.11 (NIV)
“Out with him”, the crowd screamed. Arms flailing, verbal abuse flew like a flight of birds. “We don’t want anything to do with him,” they shouted raucously.
Jesus looked through sorrowed eyes at those in front of him and his heart skipped a beat. Not so many days ago, these very same people sang out praises to him. They bowed before him, worshipped him and showed adoration. Some of those faces were so familiar. His heartstrings pulled painfully, yet he remained silent. There was more to come.
Swollen and bleeding from the beating he got, he determinedly made his way to the mountaintop where he would redeem these who were adamant in punishing him. Dragging his weight, he focused on the mission that he was sent to accomplish and determined that he would do so.
Prodding and pushing, the crowd followed the route, all the while hurling insults and degradation. Minds were totally engrossed on sending Jesus to the cross. No one wanted to save him. The few who did were too afraid to come near for fear of being crushed by the swarm.
Eventually the taxing trip came to an end. Looking down on the crowd below, Jesus could not remember ever seeing such sin grip the hearts of people. How he cried!
Not even the physical pain that he endured over the last few days was as gruesome as the rejection he felt coming from those below him. All that he had done for them, they no longer remembered. Hope and peace were forgotten in this one moment. Vows of dedication and service were put out of the minds as they sought to get what they perceived to be tangent.
It was what finally killed him.
Today the struggle continues; rejection of the one true Saviour is as rife as it was all those years ago.
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