Let us kneel at Calvary

Let us kneel at Calvary,
wonder at this mystery,
with the words 'Father forgive',
Jesus dies that we might live.
He was stripped so we might dress
in his robe of righteousness.
Bore the burden of our sin,
as the nails pierced his skin.

We will kneel in adoration at our King's sacrifice,
see the scandal and the glory as his death brings us life.
All our hope and our salvation are in his sacrifice, at the cross.

At the hill they call the skull,
he was crushed; we are made whole.
Jesus drank our bitter cup,
pouring out his precious blood.
God forsaken all alone,
Jesus made our shame his own.
Suffered hell on earth to save
those who drove him to the grave.

We will kneel...

He cried out, then breathed no more,
as the temple curtain tore,
made the new and living way
back to God for us that day.
Why seek Christ among the dead?
He is living as he said!
He was raised at God's command,
in the life of Christ we stand.

We will stand in celebration for our King is alive,
see the joy and restoration as we share his new life
We are free, no condemnation for our King is alive
yes he lives, Jesus lives. Yes he lives, Jesus lives!

The aim of this song was to draw out some of the deeper significance of the cross of Christ, in a way that grabbed your emotions and inspired a heart response. I wanted to bring in some of the contrasts - he was stripped that we might be robed; drinking our bitter cup whilst he pours out his blood of the covenant for us to drink - and also some of the specific details that we often miss in our songs. It moves from cross to resurrection because Im increasingly struck by the power and hope in Jesus rising from the dead. If you sang this on Good Friday you could intentionally leave the final chorus out and invite people to come and sing it on Easter Sunday!