|He Took The Sword|

By Kenya Gossett

Recently, I watched a powerful 1959 film called, “Ben-Hur”, that has left me pondering on it ever since. Now, I’m not the best at story telling, so please bear with me: but the story follows Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Palestinian prince and merchant in Jerusalem, battling the Roman Empire at the time of Christ.

The trials he faced, seemed to be endless. He was betrayed by his closest friend. He was condemned as a slave to the galleys for 3 years. He lost his wealth. His mother and sister were stricken with leprosy while in prison. and he almost lost the woman he loved over the bitterness in his heart. 

It’s a beautiful story of redemption and healing, because ultimately he finds salvation at the foot of the cross and realizes that Jesus was the man who showed so much love and compassion to him in his times of need. It was amazing to see how all through out the movie, Jesus was always there. He was tied into everything.

As the movie ends with the crucifixion; it was seeing the power that occurred after Jesus took His last breath that inspired me to write this. The next scene was so perfect for the place I was in because the week prior to watching this film, the Lord was already speaking to my heart about redemption and the beauty of His blood. 

As Judah stood at the cross, beholding His Savior: his mother and sister, Miriam and Tirzah, were hiding in the caves not too far from the cross of Calvary. There was complete and utter darkness that surrounded them until the moment Jesus said “It Is Finished”. When it was close to His final moment, the thunder and lightning started to rumble and crack- the rain began to pour- and the wind was blowing every object in its path. Then, it suddenly stopped. The fear that gripped them was gone. The sun started to come out, and the precious blood of Jesus began to flow from a stream that the rain created, past the cave. Miriam and Tirzah were unaware of the miracle that just took place, until they looked at each other and saw nothing but faces that were healed. The blood that covered the earth and passed by, cleansed them from their leprosy. 

The simplicity in this was so powerful to me. I was in tears as I saw how the blood changed the lives of every individual. The ending scene shows Judah coming home with a totally different light in his eyes. It’s like he could barely walk over his excitement of being Born Again. The first and last words that came out of his mouth, pierced me. He told Esther (his love interest) of his experience at the foot of the cross and said “His voice took the sword from my hand.”

The blood of The King on the Old Rugged Cross, not only washed away the infirmities of his family, but the voice of the Messiah, took away the sword of anger- bitterness- and the desire for revenge against Rome that he so tightly held on to. Wow.

All of that would have killed the man he was destined to be!

This made me examine my own self. What sword do I carry in my hand? What could potentially kill me?

I’ll be honest, the biggest sword I have held, is the sword of fear. Fear over what will happen next in my life. Fear over what people think of me. Fear of death and fear of losing those that I am closest to. It has gripped me for so many years. It’s even been an uphill battle to truly be confident in who I am and what I am called to do. But I can now confidently proclaim that because of the blood of Jesus, every fear is gone. He took it from my hand, so that I can face tomorrow. 

Every fear of people, every past mistake, and every failure in my way of thinking, is GONE. I can be what I’ve been destined to be because of a sacrifice that was made for every human being. 

The only sword that I carry now, is truth, hope, love and a pure confidence. Towards myself and towards others. Hallelujah!

So I want to ask you. What sword do you carry? Is it Anger? Bitterness? Lust? Lack of self confidence? Jealousy? Sickness? Shame of your past? You too can overcome because JESUS LIVES! His blood washed it all away. You have been redeemed! BE FREE.

He died and rose again, so that we wouldn’t kill ourselves and abort who we are supposed to be in His Kingdom. He died and rose again, so that we could have a Heavenly way of thinking and truly walk in the victory that was given us. 

So to whoever is reading this: He took the sword. All you got to do now is BELIEVE IT.