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Who nailed Jesus on the cross? (2004-05-31) Tears rolled down my face as the inmates taught me the meaning of forgiveness tonight in FDC. Tear drops smudged the little pieces of paper on which we confided in Jesus our pain of unforgiveness. Lord, why is it so hard to forgive? Why is it so hard to receive forgiveness? For some of us, the piece of paper was too small to list all the hurts inside. I recognized how wrong I was in raising my voice towards my wife, Hae-Lih, this afternoon when I disagreed with her in the way we teach Kevin... When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him." The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”... Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others-- one on each side and Jesus in the middle. (John 19:5-7, 16-18) Who nailed Jesus to the cross? Pilate? Chief priests? The Jews? The soldiers? We folded the paper lengthwise to make nails. One by one, we put the paper nails through the fingers of an inmate who had volunteered to stand in a lonely corner of the room, arms spread, waiting to be crucified, sweaty, fatigued and isolated. Oh it was painful. I did not want to see it. Tell me that it was only a dream. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing..." (Luke 23:34) Three times this gift of forgiveness was repeated in this small suffocating room. We all formed a chain and laid hands on the inmate to pray for being humble enough to forgive and being brave enough to receive forgiveness. Tears turned into sobs. We cried because the wounds behind our well groomed front had a chance to be touched by love. We cried because of finally experiencing the healing process. We cried because of the joy of reconciliation with men and God. We cried because Jesus accepts us just as we are. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23: 46) Everyone could not wait to tare up the paper nails. Memory does not need to hurt. Pride is colorless against God's love. Let’s put an end to the jail of unforgiveness. Zip, zap, zip zap! Gazing at the broken pieces of paper, we clapped in joy and victory. And “it is finished.” (John 19:30) The forgiveness is complete. Who nailed Jesus to the cross? Jesus, I am sorry. I did... many times…And Jesus responds, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing..." ^^^^^^^ * A 24-year-old female inmate who is seeking reconciliation with her parents for doing many wrong things in her life. *
Healing of many broken lives and families in FDC. Peter |