So many today say…”Jesus understands” - Sure - He understands - But do we understand? - This man will return again!

Today is Good Friday….This morning when reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, which will be read today at the 3:00pm service around the world - The Celebration of the Lord’s Passion…The 3:00pm hour is referred in Catholic circles as - “The Hour of Mercy”…Jesus was not shown mercy…But we were by what he suffered….When reading this passage…Its striking to me that it was written hundreds of years before Christ was even born…..Yet…It is like it was written after Jesus lived and died…Its so accurate its almost frightening:

“See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted. Even as many were amazed at him-- so marred was his look beyond human semblance and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man - so shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless; for those who have not been told shall see, those who have not heard shall ponder it. Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by people, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom people hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, a grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. But the LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many and win pardon for their offenses.”

In the history of mankind many men have done “good things”….Many have died unjustly…Many more will…How could this one man…Uneducated, born in a remote corner of the world somehow shape the thinking of the entire world as a result of what he said and did?….Ask yourself that……Its because he was God…And that means everything he said and did was true….Think about that?…..One day this Man, as he said will return….If we are honest, that thought brings with it joy but also terror……Is the world ready for the return of Christ?…There will be no “hiding”…No self-rationalizing...We either believe Jesus is God or we don’t…..Its really that simple and our lives give the answer…For those who want proof….If you care to read and look for proof, there is so much evidence that this “Man” was not just “your average guy”….But even if all the evidence is read…That does not change people….But make no mistake - We are asked to change by this “Man”.

Today marks the day time splits in two…Even for those who do not believe…Every time you write the date on a check, you indirectly acknowledge the birth of Christ…And when this “Man” returns as he said he would…Will He recognize the world?…So many today say…”Jesus understands” - Sure - He understands - But do we understand - This man will return again!