He Bled for You and For Me

This past summer when I took my 12 year old grandson to “The Holyland Experience” in Orlando, FL. In the middle of the day they performed a passion play. In the center of the park was a life size replica of the tomb and the area around it. They had transplanted trees from the Holy Land and had a narrator who earlier in the day explained the setting. Anyway, when 2:00 arrived literally hundreds of people gathered along the hill side, along the walkways. We were fortunate to find a place on the side of a small hill to sit and watch.

The actors were absolutely marvelous! And when they brought Jesus down the walk to the hill carrying His cross, I believe we forgot all about it being a re-enactment. Most were not ashamed for others to see tears filled eyes. The crucifixion made all of us flinch with each blow of the hammer.

But, then, the resurrection. It was by far the best production I had ever seen. But that wasn’t really what spoke to my heart. When it was over, everyone scattered to other attractions. About 10 feet from where we sat was the path that took Jesus to the cross.

As we were walking to the path, Alex ran a little ahead of me. And then stopped dead in his tracks. He frantically called for me “Grandmother, Grandmother!” I could see he was not hurt so didn’t understand until I got to him. He was staring down at the ground. There were drops of blood right where the actor portraying Jesus walked. Alex just dropped to his knees; then looked up at me. “Grandmother, he really bled. He bled for you and for me.” As I took his hand and we walked away, he just kept looking back over his shoulder; at the blood. What a moment to share with my grandson. “Yes, Alex He did really bleed and He did really die just for you and just for me.”

Sharing this wonderful memory seems a very fitting thing to do on this beautiful Easter day. He is Risen; just as He said!