I have a quirky interest in alternate history scenarios. What if Columbus had decided not to venture out and “discover” the new world? What if the Allies had lost the Second World War? The “what-if” scenarios go on and on. What would our world and my life look like in an alternate historical setting? What if Jesus never went to the cross?

The internet is full of “what-if” scenarios; books and movies all give a different, mostly depressing view of what history and civilization would look like if things had turned out differently.

Jesus certainly had an opportunity to back out, to take a different route. In His humanity, could He have taken the easy way out and avoided the cross? He certainly had the opportunity. Tempted by the Devil, He was offered physical sustenance in a time of deep hunger. He was offered wealth and affluence and all the kingdoms of the world. He was challenged to prove who He was. Yet He didn't. He quoted Scripture. His focus was on the journey.

His journey was heavy and almost too much to bear in His humanity. In prayer to His Father, He prayed; “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me” (Luke 22:42). If only there was another way to accomplish His Father’s will. He knew the journey ahead involved pain, humiliation, and cruel death. Yet He prayed; “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42b).

At the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco in the historic centre of Lima, Peru, there is a collection of paintings in the Cuzco style, depicting the life of Christ. In an age when illiteracy was common among the people, paintings often told the stories of the Bible. As you are guided around the room, you see depictions of Christ’s birth and baptism, His disciples and His miracles. The last painting as you exit the room is Christ’s crucifixion. Yet something is missing.

Jesus stayed the course. His was a journey that began in a cradle and ended not with a cross but with something more glorious, a resurrection! There was no alternate history, no “what-ifs”. Jesus struggled with the journey. He prayed and asked if there was another way, but in the end, the Father's will was done. Jesus went to the cross to pay what we could never bear to restore our relationship with the Father. Christ’s resurrection was proof of payment for our sins. The hope we have today is that we too may come to the Father in repentance and find forgiveness and restoration because of the cross and the resurrection.

The early Church greeted one another with the phrase "He is risen"; the response was "He is risen indeed!" May that be our response, not just at Easter, but every day. As we face trials and unplanned journeys that are difficult and painful, may our focus be on the One who stayed the course.

“But the angel said to the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen” (Matthew 28:5-6).

He is Risen Indeed!

Rev. Bill Allan
AGC President

2022: Stay the Course! - He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!