Passion (pt 2) – 4K to Sunday
Jesus had waited 4000 years to reach Jerusalem. The day called Palm Sunday. Have you ever finally reached a destination you had dreamed about for year and worked so hard to achieve?
In our case, that destination is usually a vacation site like Hawaii or a location of a Championship Game that is called something like the Road to the Final Four.
The anticipated excitement almost out performs the joy of the day you finally arrive at the actual destination.
Some of those cherished moments in my past include arriving in 1991 at the NCCAA National Championship my senior season in Lee, TN. It was as a young inexperienced coach arriving with my high school team at what is called the Big House in OKC at the State Championship in 1996. It was arriving in KC at Municipal Auditorium in 2005 to play for the NAIA National Championship. It was the day in 2009 we arrived to play for the NAIA National Championship in Branson, Missouri versus our rival College of the Ozarks on their home court. Even better than any of those memorable arrival dates was the day of my wedding, the day I heard the heartbeat of my first child, and the arrival of each of my four beautiful children into this world.
Now flip that thought process completely!
Instead of anticipated excitement, imagine knowing you are fixing to walk into a trap that will be a six hour absolute beat down of torture, mockery, ridicule and unimaginable pain as you arrive at your death.
Nobody gets it except you. They perceive you as the Messiah coming to save them from captivity, much like Moses had done. They just know you are the reincarnation of their legendary King and your great grandfather David. Thousands line the streets as you enter Jerusalem that day shouting “Hosannah”, which means “save us”. Finally their savior has arrived!
Their plan, you come in and lead a military revolution that conquers their hated adversaries. They expect you to enter the arena like a champion, their future King riding a white stallion with a Rocky Balboa “Eye of the Tiger” tune playing in the background.
Instead, you ride in on a lowly donkey. No song is playing in the background. It is just you and a complete understanding that you will soon be made a sacrifice for the entire world to see.
You will be a savior and king alright. They will mockingly hail you as King of the Jews and press a crown of thorns painfully into your skull as blood trickles down your face into your eyes. The fans lining the streets with palm leaves will soon become an angry bloodthirsty mob. You have replayed this day over and over in your mind since the day Adam took a bite of that apple.
Would you continue this journey? I doubt I could, but Jesus did! It was His 4K to Sunday.
Because of Jesus, my father David Bostwick, after enduring a painful last month of his life battling cancer, c-diff, and kidney failure, received the crown of glory just like his Savior. Even in death, we can not be defeated because of Jesus!
Following my father’s death, in honor of my dad and another friend on mine, Legendary High School Coach David Milson, who also battled cancer until the day he walked into Glory, I decided to run a 4K.
I did not prepare or train a single day. Leading up to the event, I knew it would be nothing but pain, but I also knew in my heart, I had to do this. At the starting line, I saw a runner who looked like he had done this before. I said to myself, just focus on following him and no matter what, just keep running. I had set it in my mind, I would not walk a step of the race, I would run the entire race even if it killed me. It was honestly one of the most excruciating painful things I have ever endured physically, yet when I finished and fell to the ground, the overwhelming Joy I experienced to this day is still unexplainable.
Much like I did that day, you must set your eyes on Jesus, follow Him, chase after Him no matter how difficult the race becomes. In the end, it will be well worth the pain, persecution, and every trial we endure on this earth.
During this Passion Week – Remember Jesus and His 4K to Sunday!
Photo by Jacob Bentzinger on Unsplash