40 Days with the Savior
Pilgrimage to Calvary
Introduction: The tiny hill of Calvary has become the pinnacle of history which towers over all other events. The world has gloried in its cross – carved it into every form of beauty, emblazoned it on the flags of nations, and engraved it on the scepters and diadems of kings. The mighty impact of Calvary divided time in two. Christ’s death made Calvary the door through which humanity might enter eternity.
“The Cross transforms everything,” writes John R. W. Stott. He states, “The Cross lies at the center of the historic, biblical faith.” Indeed, the word cross comes from the Latin crux which means the3 essential or deciding point. The cross is the central point of history. The destiny of every soul lies in the promise of the cross.
No theme is so sacred, so sublime, as the suffering death of Christ on Calvary. It was on the cross that the Son of God paid the tremendous cost for our salvation and eternal life. It was on the cross that Christ balanced mankind’s ledger with God, wiping out our spiritual bankruptcy before a holy and just God.
These forty meditations may serve as a pilgrimage of the soul, journeying through the final week and sufferings in the life of our Lord. They will help us reverently contemplate the sublime sacrifice of our Lord and draw us nearer to the cross and its mighty meaning for our lives.
Why forty meditations? The number forty has sacred significance in Scripture and Christian history. When the hope of the world was sheltered in the Ark, there was rain upon the earth for forty days (Genesis 7:17). Israel’s wilderness wanderings lasted for forty years, during which God provided manna for their sustenance (Ex. 16:35; Num. 32:13). Moses tarried on Mt. Sinai for forty days when God gave the Ten Commandments (Ex. 24:18). Israel’s spies scouted the Promised Land for forty days (Num. 13:1-25). Elijah tarried in Horeb forty days before God’s revelation to him (1Kings 19:8). Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days after which He overcame the tempting of the devil (Luke 4:2). Our Lord remained after His resurrection, confirming the faith of His followers in that critical period, for forty days (Acts 1:3).
Christians traditionally commemorate the forty days before Easter as Lent, remembering the suffering and sacrifice of Christ. It is a time devoted to meditation, self-examination, discipline, and renewal. Ash Wednesday inaugurates Lent with prayer and Holy Week before Easter. Good Friday is Lent’s climax.
These forty meditations can serve as devotional readings during the Lenten period or for any season when one is led to contemplate the sacred last week of the life of our Lord and its meaning for us. When we come to the end of these reflections, let us affirm with the Apostle Paul, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Gal. 6:14).
—–>excerpts from Henry Gariepy – 40 Days with the Savior
