My chance has come,
That once in a lifetime chance
To make a sacrifice in Jerusalem.
The cost will be great, that is true,
Yet it is something I have desired to do
My entire life.

The risk will be great, the journey long,
Yet, I have waited so long for this chance,
To make this journey of which I have dreamed.
Though the journey long, it will be joyous to see
The Temple, and there make my Passover sacrifice.

I think I should take my boys with me.
This could be their only chance to see
The Temple and Jerusalem.
It would have been wonderful if
As a boy I was able see Jerusalem.
Yes, they will go along,
Perhaps then, the journey will not seem so long.

Finally, I see Jerusalem.
The long, hard trip is done.
To be able to sacrifice,
The Law has required all to remain clean
According to all,
That God the Father has said.

Wait, there is something wrong,
In the city is a great throng.
The feast is almost here, and yet
There is something that I can not understand.
There should be songs of Joy and peace,
Praising The Father for Israel's release.

In the place of these, are angry yells,
And the crowds are seeming to swell
To a great size, but,
They are not praising God.
They're yelling something,
But what I cannot tell.

There, I think I almost made it out,
If they yell again . . .
There it is!
They're yelling "Crucify"!?
Yet in these days of Feast,
Men are not supposed to die.

Alexander, Rufus, stay close to me,
Until I determine what is to be
This day in this great town.
Here comes a crowd,
Perhaps someone will
Tell me what is going on.

Wait, I see three men carrying crosses.
What does this mean?
I did not expect this scene
To happen here, especially now.
I wonder who, I already know how.

The crowd is jeering and cursing at one,
That one is Jesus who says He's God's Son.
They finally caught him and now He is to be punished
The worst way they know how.

What is happening? He just fell,
He is too weak to carry that cross.
No one could tell He was the "Son of God",
If they saw him now.
I wonder how they will finish
The march to that ugly mound.

No! Not me! I cannot! I will not,
Defile myself now. I've come so far,
Spent so much, to lose my chance now.
Yes, YES!!, I will. Put away your sword
I said I will, and I will, just let me say a word,
To my boys about what they should do.

Follow close my sons, do not stray far.
Your Father will find you,
When I am done with this thing the Romans ask of me.
They want me to carry that man's cross to
The hill just outside that gate.
Stay where you can see me boys, I hope we'll be done soon.

NO! There is the cross and it is
Covered in blood.
This act will make me unclean,
They're reaching for their swords again so. . .

That did it, I hope they are happy now.
I am unclean, and
The Law must be kept no matter what.
The long, hard journey has been for naught.
To get this close and then Oh why,
Why my Lord did this happen? Why?

What's that? We're here?
Oh what is to happen now?
Will I be crucified along with these,
Because I resisted their will?
No, the one called Jesus is not fighting at all.
He lay down on the cross with no struggle,
No call?

What manner of man is He,
Who calls Himself the Son of God?
That is willing to give up His life with out a fight?
The cause is great, it is His life,
Yet there is not a sound from him.
He is like a lamb being sacrificed.
Is this really like Him?

There is a woman staring at Him,
Perhaps she will know,
"Ma'am, is this like Him,
To give up His life like so?"

"Yes," she replied, "It is just like Him."
I marveled and thought, "How strange,
For a man to just give up his life,
To put up no fight at all.
I wonder who He really is.
Could His claims be true after all?"

It is the middle of the day,
Yet it is black as night.
It has been quite a sight
To watch this one,
This Jesus, who some call the King,
If He really is a King then
Why do they do this terrible thing?

What is happening?
What is that noise?
Why is the earth shaking so?
Is this Jesus causing it?
If He is, How so?

He is dead, they say.
They have stuck a spear into his side,
It must be true.
The one some call "The Christ" is dead,
And I, am no longer able to offer my sacrifice.
Why? O Lord my God why?

What? What is that messenger saying?
Boy, what did you say about the temple?
That the veil ripped from top to bottom?
Why that's impossible!
That is something only God could do.

What did the prophet Esaias say?
A lamb to the slaughter, a sheep?
But that was about the Messiah,
And this Man was so weak.
But the way He spoke, and cared to the last,
Even about a wicked thief,
There was something special, something different.
Just what I cannot speak.

That's it! He was God's Spotless Lamb!
He made the sacrifice for all of us.
To redeem us by His blood.
The blood of a lamb is what was required to cover Israel's sins,
And God sent His Spotless Lamb,
To pay for All our sins.

Oh boys I have wonderful news,
We no longer need a sacrifice,
God has made the way,
You see, the man who's cross I carried today,
Wasn't just an ordinary man.

The Son of God was he.
Sent from God to man, to make the final sacrifice
That ever need be made.
God's own Son has paid the price
That every one should have paid.
He made Himself the Sacrifice, as only God could do
To pay the price for all the sin committed by me and you.

Oh, Can't you see my precious sons?
He died to set you free, so you don't have to
Make another trip here like you did with me.

Copyright 1999