By the prophets, God foretold of the sending of His Son who would give His life to set the captive free. Stepping down from His throne and the glory He had known, Jesus came to give His life for you and me. Though He knew well the cost, He was prepared to suffer loss and give Himself as ransom for us all. Into our hopeless world He came, endured the suffering and the shame, every moment staying faithful to the call. Yet the One who spoke of love was rejected and despised; He knew all too well the sinful heart of men. Those with eyes refused to see, Those with ears refused to hear, as they sought a way to bring Him to an end. By a friend He was betrayed. By soldiers, led away. Yet for this very hour He had come. They did not take, He freely gave. For those He came to save, the road to the cross He walked alone. He could have called a million angels to His side, or stepped down from the cross and walked away. Yet His love held Him there, through the pain and despair, to free us from the debt we could not pay. In His suffering and pain He took the guilt and the shame as He hung between the heavens and the ground. Every nail, every thorn, every stare, every scorn pierced the One who so freely laid it down. With His face to the sky, "It is finished!" was His cry, the words that broke the gates of hell. When His final words were said, breathed His last, bowed His head, darkness o'er the land so quickly fell. Yet death and darkness could not stand against His power: He rose, victorious o'er the grave. In His light we now may live, By the grace He came to give all who call upon His name are surely saved. All who call upon His name are surely saved! By: Elton Smith So then, after the Lord Had spoken to his disciples, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God Mark 16:19