I’m Doing This For You

I stood there as they tried Him, for crimes He hadn’t done.
No one else believed it, but I just knew He was the One.
And I slid back into the crowd, trying to go unseen.
But when Pilate cried I’d beat Him, he pointed straight to me.

My friends they all cheered me, as I took the whip in hand.
Placing stripes upon the back, of this guiltless man.
The way He turned and looked at me, from my mind I can’t erase.
And I’ll never forget, the look on His face.

Chorus:
He said I’m doing this for you
And I will still love you, when you’re through
I’m doing this for you
Though it took me by surprise, when I saw love in His eyes,
He said I’m doing this for you

High atop mount Calvary, with hammer and nails,
It became my duty, to crucify this Man.
And I heard my friends gambling, for His robe at my side,
An I couldn’t tare it away, as He looked into my eyes.

Father forgive them, I heard Him cry aloud.
Behold the King of Kings, someone mocked from the crowd.
But then the ground shook and the thunder rolled, as He gave up the ghost,
Until the day I die, the thing that I’ll remember most…

Bridge
The sacrifice that day, at Calvary,
Was the Fathers perfect Lamb to set men free

In 1998, Brian Free and Assurance released a project titled, Doing This For You. The title track, a very powerful ballad sung by Brian, has a outstanding message written from the Roman Centurions point of view. Perfect for the Easter season, let’s take a look at what the song and the Centurion have to say about the King of Kings…

Matthew 27:54 “Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, truly this was the Son of God.”

The Centurion:
Everyone was mocking the Man the centurion just nailed to the cross. Everyone in this crowd was against the One called, King of the Jews. The centurion was just doing his job. Why should he take note of any of the three men dying that day? After all, weren’t they getting what they deserved?

Yet at the same time…how could the ones responsible for crucifying Him, not be taken back by Jesus? The centurion killed many men in his lifetime, yet, here was One who allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross. Can you imagine how confused the soldier must have been when he drove the nails into the Saviors hand’s and feet? Instead of cursing, He cries, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He is quiet. (Out of all the people who endured crucifixion, how many do you think were silent during the process – after all, they were going to die an excruciating death!) The Roman centurion knew a lot about the way crucifixions take place, and this Man was not dying the same way that other men did, everything he was use to seeing happening in other men did not happen with Jesus. Christ endured it all in a completely different way. Never before did a man die the way He died. In the nature of what was happening, Jesus of Nazareth was like no other, He was different…no wonder the centurion noticed Him!

The centurion saw Christ for who He was – the Son of God…and he wasn’t even a Jew! He probably didn’t even know any of the Old Testament prophesies foretelling the Messiah’s coming! Yet, even in his lack of knowledge, he knew enough to know that what was happening was so different from what always took place, that there had to have been something special going on. The centurion was not deaf to hearing the insults directed His way. He heard them calling him “king” in sarcastic tones, he heard the sneers, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross”, there is no doubt that the soldier knew the argument. But when Christ gave up the ghost, the centurion chose for himself, to declare that indeed…“this was the Son of God”. He realized something no one else did, something that not even Jesus’ disciples grasped, that maybe, the Son of God was accomplishing a different plan.

Did you know: The Roman spikes used in the crucifixion were five to seven inches long?

The Savior:
Yes, indeed, this was a different plan than what the Jews were expecting! Yet, for the Savior of the world – there were no surprises at Calvary. Before the creation of this earth He knew what would happen that day on the cross, and He came anyway! He died because of a broken law, but He never broke any laws. He died because of sin, yet He never sinned in His whole life…not even once! He died because He was the only One who could take away the sins of the world. The object of His death was…“To take away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29) The purpose was not to rebel against the death He was sentenced to, the purpose was not to perform a miracle delivering Himself from the cross, the purpose was to become the sacrifice that would cancel the sin debt on the human race. He died for everyone that day, not only for you and me, but even for that Roman soldier who was responsible for nailing Him to the cross. For once in history, men saw the example of a Man who put others above Himself. Philippians 2:8, a familiar verse, reminds us, “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”. And in John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”. Surely, His whole being, His attitude, His words reflected the chorus of this song – I’m doing this for you…