For Us
For Us
by Tanner Olson
writtentospeak.com
The following poem can be found in my book, I’m All Over The Place.
Grab it from Amazon or from writtentospeak.com/store.
Jesus,
You didn’t fight back.
Not even when you had the chance.
You stood still.
A stamp of betrayal on your cheek ignited the events for the coming week.
But Jesus, You didn’t run,
You didn’t budge and
above all you didn’t even hold a grudge.
Your words knocked them to the ground.
Laid out;
Face down.
Confused and un-amused they had not a word to say as they hauled you away.
Broken and bound by their chains your heart didn’t change, it stayed the same,
pumping blood to your veins, so you could endure the world's pain.
Cracking your head; whipping your back for answers to questions they asked.
When you spoke the truth they asked for ears turned only to ignore.
No crown for a king,
Just a thick bouquet of thorns to cut and sting.
They pulled out words of axes and began to cut you down;
Stomping their fellow man into the ground.
With tongues like camels they spit on you relentlessly and with a strong sense of intensity.
But Jesus,
You didn’t fight back.
Not even when you had the chance,
You stood still.
And when they ripped and stripped your blood soaked, band-aid acting cloak You didn’t give in to give up, You never muttered or uttered “Enough!” no matter how rough and tough were the big, the bad, and the buff.
They handed you a cross and with a whip in hand they demanded,
“Walk.”
A trail laced with tears they watched in shock.
Poisonous slurs;
Demeaning words
Creep into the mind of He who faces death.
Crowds the size of stadiums came to witness you tread the blood-stained dirt road in hopes to catch a glance of your last breath.
But Jesus,
You didn’t fight back.
Not even when you had the chance.
You stood still.
And you had the chance!
But you stood still,
You stood still for the world,
for the ones you love,
for your children,
for me,
For us!
And when your robe was torn off and when the nails went in - you flinched - of course you flinched.
You were human.
You once
Ate laughed and cried.
You once walked, talked, and taught.
You healed and revealed.
You prayed and forgave.
You, like the storm were still!
While hanging on the cross you could have gotten down,
Of course you could have gotten down.
You’re God.
But you didn’t.
Hanging there, hardly able to breathe, speak, see, you prayed.
You prayed for those who hated you.
You prayed for those who took your words, your hands, your heart and twisted, beat, and broke them.
But you did not fight back.
You didn’t.
You endured the sin of the world - our sin - my sin.
On your back it weighed you down like a potato sack packed full of our dirt, our shame, our lies, our hate, our disgrace- but you hung there high, while the others cried, you yelled to the sky, belting it out from your insides, shattering the earth only for people to run in hide, and now, and now no longer were you disguised.
Our sin drowned you for three whole days.
Laid to rest,
laid to waste only to come back and give us a new taste of what it means to never forsake.
The ground it could not bound the love of the Son.
It could not contain the once beaten, broken, breathless One.
Jesus,
You didn’t fight back.
Not even when you had the chance.
You stood still.
For us you didn’t fight back.
For us you stood still.
With hope,
Tanner Olson
@writtentospeak
About the Author
Tanner Olson is an author, poet, speaker, and podcaster living in Nashville, Tennessee.
He is the author of I’m All Over the Place, As You Go, Walk A Little Slower, and Continue: Poems and Prayers of Hope.
You can find Tanner Olson’s books on Amazon.
His podcast is The Walk A Little Slower Podcast with Tanner Olson and can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.
Tanner Olson travels around the country sharing poetry, telling stories, and delivering messages of hope.
You can follow Tanner Olson on Instagram (@writtentospeak) and Facebook where you’ll daily find encouraging words of faith and hope.
Tanner Olson wearing a Written to Wear t-shirt. grab one here: writtentowear.com