Humanity's Worldly Desire outside Pilate's Court:

The mob, fueled by their worldly desire, arrogantly chanted - 'Crucify Him, Crucify Him' - and obtained a decree from Pilate accordingly. They then constructed a wooden cross from two logs:

(A) The First Log – The Horizontal Beam -

This log, parallel to the earth, symbolizes God's desire. Jesus willingly had His hands nailed to this log to align with God's desire. This log is shorter than the other, indicating that God's desire is simpler and easier to fulfill compared to humanity's desires.

Scripture reflects this:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NIV)

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:12, NIV)

The Horizontal Beam represents God's simple yet sacred desire, revealed through Moses in the form of the Ten Commandments. Whoever fulfills Jesus Christ's commandment to love will genuinely love their Creator God, leading them to love others. They will not steal, covet others' wealth, commit adultery, murder, disrespect parents, bear false witness, and so on. This small yet sacred desire of God always floats in this world, reaching every individual.

(B) The Second Log – The Vertical Beam -

It is the log on which Jesus' feet were nailed. This log stands vertically on the earth, representing humanity's stubbornly arrogant desires. Humanity failed to love their Creator, God, and couldn't align their desires with Him. They nailed Jesus' feet as He walked towards them, calling them to live by His lifestyle. This is the way they managed to depart from God's desire and Jesus' lifestyle.

Therefore, the log to which Jesus' legs were nailed represents humanity's worldly desires. This log is longer than the first one, as humanity nailed Jesus' chasing feet to fulfill their extensive worldly desires: accumulating immense wealth, seeking name and fame, craving praise, showing off, and so on.

(C) The Factory of Cross -

God's simple desire – 'love one another' – floats around the world, reaching every individual: me, you, and all humanity. However, whenever humanity's unholy desires – worldly lust, selfishness, arrogance, pride, envy, greed, and adultery – cross or cut God's sacred desire, a cross is created.

For example, God's sacred desire is 'do not be greedy.' But when humanity takes bribes to fulfill their desire for wealth, they cross or cut God's simple sacred desire with their big worldly lust, and a cross is constructed.

Therefore, the cross is a symbol of sin, and humanity is a factory of crosses. Wherever humanity crosses or cuts God's simple sacred desire with their worldly desire, a cross is created. Even today, we continue to yield crosses.

(D) Cross: A Symbol of Sin -

The cross is a symbol of sin that we create when our worldly desires conflict with God's sacred desires. Almighty Father's holy desire, revealed in the Garden of Gethsemane - "Crucify Him, Crucify Him" - was for humanity's sake. Therefore, we must shut down our factory of cross and hand over our sins (the crosses we created before shutting down the factory) to Jesus for redemption, as guided in scripture:

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23, NIV)

(E) Cross: A Symbol of Sorrow -

Humanity indulges in worldly desires by burdening Jesus with the weight of their sin (the cross). Consider this: does a thief experience joy or sorrow after stealing? Does someone who looks at others with lustful intentions experience joy or sorrow? Does someone who accepts bribes experience joy or sorrow?

It is clear that when we commit sin, meaning we create a cross, we indulge in worldly desires. However, Jesus bears the sorrow until we surrender that sin, the cross, to Him, since we fail to fulfill Almighty Father's desire, as expressed in the Garden of Gethsemane, 'Crucify Him, Crucify Him'. Thus, the cross is a symbol of joy for humanity and sorrow for Jesus.

(F) Cross A Deadly Weapon to Kill Jesus Christ -

(F) Cross A Deadly Weapon to Kill Jesus Christ - Jesus is love, kindness, peace, compassion, endurance, patience, and justice. Indulging in anger, hatred, unforgiveness, unrest, arrogance, intolerance, impatience, and injustice is possible only by crucifying Him. Therefore, the cross is a deadly weapon to kill Jesus Christ; a deadly weapon to kill God (love).

Two thousand years ago, when humanity created a wooden cross to kill Jesus, they also created an invisible cross by crossing God's sacred desire – 'love one another' – with their unholy desire of hatred, thereby killing love. God had commanded not to kill any human being, yet they killed Jesus Christ. Although we are not creating a wooden cross today, but whenever we cross or cut God's sacred desire with our unholy worldly desires, we create an invisible cross to kill Jesus. Did God not command us not to kill, through Moses?

Oh! Creating a wooden cross to hang Jesus, who embodies love, humility, peace, compassion, patience, forgiveness, and justice, if it's not a sin, then what is? The wooden cross is visible, but the cross humanity creates today is invisible. For instance,

 whenever humanity hates, they create an invisible cross by cutting or crossing love, an immense desire of God, and hang Jesus, the embodiment of love, on that cross to easily indulge in hatred. This is because, as the Bible states, "God is love." (1 John 4:8, NIV), and this divine love pursues humanity to prevent hatred.
 Whenever humanity is proud, they create an invisible cross by crucifying or suppressing humility, a fundamental attribute of God, and hang Jesus, the embodiment of humility, on that cross to easily indulge in pride. This is because, as the Bible states, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand." (1 Peter 5:6), and this divine humility prompts humanity to relinquish pride.
 Whenever humanity refuses to forgive others and withholds forgiveness, they create an invisible cross by cutting or crossing forgiveness, a fundamental attribute of God, and hang Jesus, the embodiment of forgiveness, on that cross to easily indulge in unforgiveness. This is because, as the Bible states, "Forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:37, NIV), and this divine forgiveness pursues humanity to relinquish unforgiveness.
 Whenever humanity chooses discord, they create an invisible cross by cutting or crossing peace, a core aspect of God's nature, and crucify Jesus, the personification of peace, on that cross, indulging easily in conflict and pride. This is because, as the Bible states, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9, NIV), and this divine peace pursues humanity to relinquish conflict and pride.
 Whenever humanity is stubborn, they create an invisible cross by cutting or crossing compassion, a core aspect of God's nature, and crucify Jesus, the personification of compassion, on that cross, embracing stubbornness easily. This is because, as the Bible states, "The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion." (Psalm 116:5, NIV), and this divine compassion pursues humanity to relinquish stubbornness.
 Whenever humanity is intolerant, they create an invisible cross by cutting or crossing endurance, a core aspect of God's nature, and crucify Jesus, the personification of endurance, on that cross, embracing intolerance easily. This is because the divine endurance pursues humanity to relinquish intolerance.
 Whenever humanity is restless for revenge, they create an invisible cross by cutting or crossing endurance, a core aspect of God's nature, and crucify Jesus, the personification of endurance, on that cross, seeking revenge easily. This is because the divine endurance pursues humanity to relinquish the desire for revenge.
 Whenever humanity commits injustice, they create an invisible cross by cutting or crossing justice, a core aspect of God's nature, and crucify Jesus, the embodiment of justice, on that cross, perpetuating injustice easily. This is because, as the Bible states, "For the Lord is a God of justice..." (Isaiah 30:18, NIV), and this divine justice pursues humanity to relinquish injustice.

(G) The Factory of Cross Operational Today -

Jesus' crucifixion implies sacrificing truth on the cross to indulge in untruth. Now, it would be unfair to blame, "They crucified Him on the wooden cross two thousand years ago," but it is right to state, "We create an invisible cross, still crucifying resurrected Jesus." Jesus proved Himself the God's only begotten Son by living a sinless, holy lifestyle. He never committed sin. He never compromised God's desire (truth) with His human desire. He was born truth, lived by truth, and committed Himself to truth, thus fulfilling God's desire for truth and becoming immortal. He is a holy living legend, as stated in scripture:

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (John 15:10, NIV)

(H) The Cross: A Symbol of Unrighteousness, Deadly to Love -

The cross is a deadly weapon that kills love. The more crosses created, the greater the damage to love, and vice versa. This confirms that a righteous person creates few or no crosses, retaining much love, whereas a sinner creates numerous crosses, weapons to kill love, and lacks love. Consequently, love and cross are inversely reciprocal – as one increases, the other decreases in the same ratio.

This concept is illustrated in the crucifixion of Jesus. Those who crucified Him on the cross at Calvary simultaneously created invisible crosses. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus perceived God's unspoken desire, which was not to crucify Him, but to renounce sin.

(I) Redemption of Invisible Cross -

Accordingly, Jesus addressed the weeping women, He told them to mourn for their own sins and those of their families, rather than for Him. Jesus emphasized that true repentance and sorrow should be directed towards one's own transgressions, rather than sympathizing with Him, as recorded in scripture:

A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ (Luke 23:27-29, NIV)

It's evident that among the crowd on the way to Calvary, few were surrendering their sins, although this surrender is necessary for righteousness and redemption. To attain these, one must let go of the invisible cross that represents sin, as stated in Scripture:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23, NIV)

(J) Shutting Down the Factory of the Cross -

As we sin frequently, we often fall in to Satan's temptation and yield cross in our cross-producing factory, to crucify love. Therefore, we must continually undertake fasting and prayer to protect ourselves from Satan's seduction and follow Jesus' lifestyle. A holy and pure life, achievable through continuous self-sacrifice (fasting and prayer), is essential to remain in God. We must not forget that Satan seeks to destroy the holiness and purity of every individual. Fasting and prayer are the only means to overcome Satan, to shout down our factory of the cross, as declared in Scripture:

This kind can come out only by prayer. (Mark 9:29, NIV)

(K) Women of Jerusalem: Exemplify Superficial Love -

To attain righteousness, we must undertake fasting and prayer. Otherwise, we'll merely mourn Jesus' sorrow without genuine change. We'll beat our chests within church walls, made of mere materials, like the women of Jerusalem. We'll continue to fabricate a cross, an instrument of death to love (Jesus), and idolize it.

Should we adore anything else but God? Should we worship the cross, a deadly weapon that killed love (Jesus), or should we worship God (love)? To redeem ourselves from sin, we must surrender our cross, a weapon crafted to kill love, to Jesus as He journeys to Calvary, fulfilling God's silent desire expressed in the Garden of Gethsemane.

By doing so, our hearts will be filled with gentleness, humbleness, and righteousness, just as Jesus is. Love is the hallmark of righteousness; thus, our hearts will be instilled with love, as written in Scripture:

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29, NIV)

(L) Instill Righteousness, Instill Love -

Those who are righteous are proportionally rich in love, while the unrighteous are proportionally rich in the hardness of sin (the cross). May our faith in God instill righteousness in us and help us experience the ultimate in love, unlike the women in Jerusalem who were unnecessarily troubled by Jesus' sorrow.

Indeed, Jesus desires adoration from our souls, not just our mouths, as recorded in Scripture: And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” (Luke 1:46-47, NIV) Like King David, who pleaded with God for forgiveness with true repentance, self-sacrifice, and a strong desire to relinquish his sin, as recorded in Scripture:

Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. (Psalm 51:5-6, NIV)

Therefore, let us delve into the next article to explore Jesus' journey to Calvary, a journey aligned with the Almighty Father's silent desire, which He deciphered to act accordingly.

To be Continued…..

==> Stay tuned for our next article, where we'll uncover how 'A Successful Journey to Heaven From Calvary Via Golgotha’ that transforms our faith journey.

Amen!

Praise be to God, Thanks be to God.

Not being Unrighteous is Religion!!

Jharkhand! Peace be upon you!!

India! Peace be upon you!!

Peace to the whole world!!