00:00Today, I thought I would tell you a story.
00:03I'm going to tell you a story about a man who waited for Jesus to prove himself.
00:11There was a young man in Jerusalem who had come to watch the crucifixion because everyone else was going.
00:19He was not a soldier, not a priest, not one of the disciples.
00:25He was just a man in the crowd.
00:28He had heard stories about Jesus before.
00:32Everyone had.
00:34Some said Jesus healed blind people.
00:37Some said he fed thousands.
00:40Some said he raised a dead man named Lazarus.
00:45Some said he was dangerous.
00:48Others said he was the Messiah.
00:52The young man did not know who or what to believe,
00:56but when he heard that Jesus was being crucified outside the city,
01:02he followed the crowd to see for himself.
01:07The hill was ugly.
01:09The air was heavy.
01:11People pushed further ahead to get a better look.
01:17Some came with grief in their eyes.
01:19Some came with hatred.
01:22Some came because suffering has a strange way of attracting spectators.
01:28The young man stood near the edge of the crowd and looked up.
01:33There was Jesus.
01:36Bleeding.
01:37Bruised.
01:38Lifted between criminals.
01:40This confused the young man.
01:44This was the miracle worker.
01:47This was the one people said could command storms.
01:51This was the one they said spoke with authority.
01:56He looked nothing like power.
01:59He looked abandoned.
02:01Then the mocking started.
02:05A man near the front shouted,
02:07If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.
02:12Others laughed.
02:14Save yourself.
02:16He saved others.
02:17He cannot save himself.
02:20The young man felt something stir inside him.
02:24Yes, he thought.
02:26Do it.
02:27If you are who they say you are, prove it.
02:32Come down.
02:34Show them.
02:35Silence them.
02:37Make the soldiers tremble.
02:40Make the priests fall backward.
02:43Make the sky open.
02:45Do something no one can deny.
02:49The young man leaned forward, waiting.
02:53He imagined what it would look like.
02:55Jesus would lift his head.
02:58The nails would snap.
03:00The cross would shake.
03:02Angels would appear.
03:03The crowd would scream.
03:06Every doubter would know.
03:09That would be power.
03:12That would be proof.
03:14And that would make sense.
03:18But Jesus did not come down.
03:22He stayed.
03:23The young man waited longer.
03:27Maybe Jesus was gathering strength.
03:31Maybe he was about to speak.
03:34Maybe the miracle was seconds away.
03:38But the only thing Jesus said was not a threat.
03:43It was not a warning.
03:45And it was not revenge.
03:49Jesus looked at the people who were mocking him.
03:53The soldiers who had nailed him there.
03:56The leaders who wanted him dead.
03:59And he said,
04:02Father, forgive them.
04:04For they do not know what they do.
04:07The young man stepped back as if those words had struck him.
04:13Forgive them.
04:15That was not what he expected.
04:18He expected fire.
04:21He expected proof.
04:23He expected Jesus to defend himself.
04:27But Jesus was asking mercy for the people hurting him.
04:33The young man looked around.
04:35The crowd did not seem to understand what had just happened.
04:40Some kept laughing.
04:42Some kept watching.
04:45Some were bored already, waiting for death to finish its work.
04:51But the young man could not stop hearing those words.
04:56Father, forgive them.
04:59He had never seen strength like that.
05:03Anyone can curse when they are hurt.
05:06Anyone can threaten when they are powerful.
05:09Anyone can answer hate with hate.
05:14But this, this was different.
05:19Jesus had no army around him.
05:22No weapon in his hand.
05:25No rescue coming from the crowd.
05:29And still, he was not conquered by bitterness.
05:33The young man had come hoping to see Jesus prove his power by escaping pain.
05:42Instead, he saw Jesus prove his love by staying in it.
05:49That was the lesson he did not know he needed.
05:54Because the young man had spent most of his life thinking power meant getting out.
06:01Getting out of shame.
06:03Getting out of weakness.
06:06Getting out of being misunderstood.
06:10Getting out before anyone could hurt him.
06:15He thought strength meant making people regret what they had done.
06:20But Jesus showed him something greater.
06:26Strength is not always escape.
06:31Sometimes strength is staying faithful when leaving would be easier.
06:39Love is not always loud.
06:43Sometimes love bleeds quietly and keeps forgiving.
06:48Victory is not always immediate rescue.
06:53Sometimes victory looks like finishing the work God gave you.
06:58Even when no one around understands.
07:04As the hours passed, the sky grew dark.
07:08The young man felt afraid now.
07:12This no longer felt like an execution.
07:16It felt like the whole world was holding its breath.
07:31The young man did not understand everything those words meant.
07:36Not yet.
07:39But he knew something had happened.
07:42Jesus had not failed to come down from the cross.
07:47Jesus had refused to come down from the cross.
07:52There is a difference.
07:54Failure means you cannot escape.
07:58Love means you could escape.
08:01But you chose to stay because someone else needs saving.
08:06The young man walked home that evening with the sound of the crowd still behind him.
08:13But louder than the crowd were the words.
08:18Father, forgive them.
08:22It is finished.
08:25Years later, when he would face his own pain, he would remember that hill.
08:32When people misunderstood him, he would remember Jesus misunderstood on the cross.
08:40When he wanted to answer cruelty with cruelty, he would remember mercy spoken through blood.
08:48When he begged God to remove every hard thing instantly, he would remember that God's presence is not only proven
08:59by escape.
09:01Sometimes, God is with you by giving you the grace to endure.
09:09Sometimes, God is with you by keeping your heart soft in a hard place.
09:16Sometimes, God is with you by helping you finish what obedience requires.
09:23And when he wondered whether Jesus really loved him, he would remember the miracle Jesus refused to perform.
09:34Jesus did not come down.
09:37Not because he was weak.
09:40Not because he was trapped.
09:43Not because heaven was silent.
09:47Jesus stayed.
09:49Because love stayed.
09:52He stayed for the mockers.
09:55He stayed for the sinners.
09:57He stayed for the broken.
09:59He stayed for the people who did not understand what they were doing.
10:05He stayed for the young man in the crowd.
10:08He stayed for you.
10:10This is the lesson of the cross.
10:15The greatest miracle is not always the one that removes the suffering.
10:20Sometimes, the greatest miracle is the love that refuses to quit before redemption is complete.
10:30So, when life feels heavy and you are tempted to believe God has abandoned you, he has not pulled you
10:40out yet.
10:41But, look again at Jesus.
10:45The cross did not mean the Father had lost control.
10:49The cross meant love had gone all the way.
10:54And because Jesus stayed, your worst day does not get the final word.
11:03Because Jesus stayed, mercy still speaks.
11:10Because Jesus stayed, grace still reaches.
11:17Because Jesus stayed, resurrection is always possible.
11:23The crowd asked Jesus to prove himself by coming down.
11:29Jesus proved himself by staying.
11:36My name is Douglas Van de Graaff, and I believe in Jesus Christ.
11:43God bless every single one of you.
11:48Every single one.
11:51Bye-bye.
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