Grace from His Wounds

-

They throw a robe over His shoulders,
these soldiers of a foreign creed.
He does not defend Himself
when they spit and swear.
They crown Him
with thorns of mockery
and then lash His flesh open
with their whips.

He is humiliated and condemned,
forced to carry
the tools of His execution.
He bleeds,
He falls
and new wounds are opened.
The robe is wagered
His hands and feet are bound.
He is a criminal,
born to die.

And as He breathes His final breath
all truth is laid out for the spectators.
He loves them all.
He forgives the soldier who swung the hammer.
He forgives those who cast lots.
He forgives those who forsake Him
and He forgives those who condemn.

Unwittingly,
the hatred of the many
has given love to more.
And the grace that pours from His wounds
will forever
change the world.



copyright 2016 - Donald P James Jr


Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 31, 2016 at 3:48 PM

    If there were a "love" button, I'd push it right now! Will this be in your new book?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Donald P James JrJuly 31, 2016 at 7:40 PM

    This poem flowed through me in about 10 minutes the other night. I just had to share it. This isn't in the new collection though, sorry! 'Pictures of the Messiah' is kind of a concept book of poems where all the poems come from the view of those who witnessed Jesus' ministry, from the apostles to the Roman soldier who swung the hammer.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jesus in the Snow

-
Image
This picture hung on the side of my parents refrigerator when I was a child.  I was always intrigued by the black and white blotches which did not seem to form anything recognizable.  One day I asked my mother about the photograph.  She said it was the face of Jesus and that if I looked closely I could see Him. I could not for the life of me see our Lord in the meaningless menagerie of spots.  I remember standing at the side of the refrigerator staring at the picture as it hung there almost taunting me. One day, in my teen years, when I wasn't really trying to see the face in the black and white blotches anymore, I saw Him.  Maybe I needed to see the face more, at that age, when I was on the threshold of adulthood then when I was a child.  Now, as the years have passed, I find it difficult not to see Him in the patterns of melting snow on the mountainside. ~ I have a question for you.  When you look at the patterns of melting snow, do you see black and white blotches
Read more

Matthew 19

-
Image
Does our law allow these things? And with the question He points back to scripture. "Have you not read". All the answers are right there. But you have to have eyes to see and ears to hear. Why then... and but...? Because you are dense, hard to teach. Two shall unite, man and woman, as in the days of creation. No man may separate or redefine. They ask a question, specific, and the Lord's answer encompasses so much more. They question divorce and He defines marriage. Does His law allow these things? copyright 2018 - Donald P James Jr
Read more