The Joy Set Before Him
By Pamalia Culvern
Pamalia lives and works in Madison, Georgia. She is a free-lance Christian writer and designer and continues volunteer work with Young Life and the local high school mentoring program.

As Easter approaches, many of us across the United States have flocked to the theaters to see Mel Gibson’s account of the last several hours of Christ’s life. Funny, but as I wrote the words “the last hours of Christ’s life”, I realized He’s alive. Christ lives today. I wrote last time about Love being the first fruit of the Spirit. And joy was to be the subject of this assignment. I picked up a dictionary and looked up the word “joy.” It is defined as a “feeling or state of great delight or happiness, as caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying keen pleasure; Great delight caused by something exceptionally good.” I love that definition.

Now you may wonder… what does joy have to do with the death of Christ? How does “joy” possibly fit into that equation? I admit watching the portrayal of the beating of Christ was immensely difficult. I kept wondering how on earth He could withstand it. How could He have suffered so? It was wretched to watch. Why did it all have to be so cruel?

In Nehemiah 8:10, it says that the joy of the Lord is your strength. When Christ was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He wrestled with the dread of the coming hour. He asked if possible to let this cup pass from Him and yet He ended with “not My will but Yours be done.” I truly believe Christ saw the joy in the Lord that hour; The joy in God’s wisdom to redeem the world. The Father’s joy gave Christ the strength to endure the agony to come.

One of my favorite moments in the movie was when Pilate told Christ that he had the power to kill Him or free Him. Christ looked Pilate straight in the eyes and said ‘all authority comes from My Father and you have no authority except what He has given you.’ Folks, this is big. It is huge. I wanted to stand up and shout, “Yes! Yes! Yes! God was in charge then and He’s in charge now!” So many Christians miss this vital point.

In the book of John, it plainly states that Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. This was God’s plan all along. Though it may have looked like the crowd was in charge that day long ago, God’s plan for the world was being accomplished.

Hebrews 12:2 states that ‘Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. For the joy that was before Him, He endured the cross.’ Christ understood what the Father was doing for us. Christ and the Father are one. God’s desire became Christ’s passion. As we grow in the knowledge and revelation of who Christ is, we want to serve Him out of a heart of gratitude. Our service moves from duty to desire.

What God did for the world, by providing the perfect lamb as the sacrifice for our sins is truly the greatest love story ever told. I do believe the joy of the Lord was Christ’s strength for that difficult journey to the cross.

God was triumphant in His plan for His creation; a plan of great delight caused by something exceptionally good.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her king.

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