Good Friday 2010

This evening was the perfect way to spend Good Friday. Every year my friend Shannon and I go to a drama that recreates Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Last year I went with her then also went with Phil and Rose. Well Rose loved it so much that she has been begging me for probably a month now to take her back this year. So instead of a girls' night out, it ended up being me, my friend, Rose and David. This is truly an amazing production that this particular church works very hard on. As you walk up to the doors of the church you are greeted by people in authentic-looking Bible-era costumes saying "Welcome to Jerusalem!" The show opens with a reading of the passage from Luke that tells about Jesus' birth while showing Mary, Joseph and a real baby receiving visits from shepherds and wise men. A trio of guys playing drums march up the 2 aisles celebrating the birth of a king! Very cool!! The narration continues as actors highlight Jesus growing up and the time he was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem when he was 12. Then we arrive at Jesus as an adult and the drama begins. It mixes songs with Jesus performing miracles, calling his disciples, teaching the people and more. It's truly amazing! I really felt like I was in early Jerusalem as a witness to all this.

Act 2 opens in the Jerusalem marketplace with Palm Sunday. The entire cast roams through the 2 aisles of the church talking to people, giving away bread and fruit to lucky audience members (my kids LOVED this part!) and leading actual animals around. We saw several goats, a sheep and even got to pet a chicken! Then there were palms everywhere and Jesus made his triumphant entry. But all too soon, the mood turned sad and Jesus foretold his death and celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples. The soldiers were fierce and what little violence there was looked very convincing. The crucifixion was especially moving because they had 3 crosses on stage and a very bloody-looking Jesus hanging from one of them. It just really brought home for me the sacrifice that He made for us and made me realize a couple things. First, the stress and trouble we are going through right now are nothing compared to what He chose to do on the cross for us. And secondly, I can identify with Him just a little bit more since we, too, are suffering right now. Not to the degree that He did of course, but for us, this season of our life is, indeed, hard. It was so hard to watch this scene for another reason. David was sitting on my lap at this point (this scene was a little intense for him) and I just identified with Mary. I can't even imagine what she was going through seeing her first-born son suffering so much. Even knowing that He was the Messiah couldn't have completely diminished the pain she felt as seeing her child suffering. I just hugged David close and thanked God for sacrificing His son for me. Watching David suffer that way would just about kill me!

Throughout the play we saw Satan also: tempting Jesus in the desert, whipping up a nasty storm that frightened the disciples on the lake while Jesus slept and watching Judas betray Jesus. After Jesus was buried, there was a scene with Satan and his demons rejoicing and dancing outside the tomb. Then we heard a loud noise, saw a great light from inside the tomb and saw the stone roll away. The demons and Satan froze in fear, then fled in terror as Jesus walked out of the grave, clean, shining and backlit by a brilliant white light. It was just amazing!! The audience clapped and cheered. What a victory!!!


Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice on the cross!