Pictures are rattling on the walls of my study as I write this. It’s not an earthquake; it’s not even a strong wind. It’s the firing of guns on an Army artillery range miles away. Field artillery bangs, slams, and shakes. You can’t mistake it.

None in the military community do. Whether it is the firecracker sound of small arms or the boom of the howitzers, people hear it. Mothers look up from their kitchen sinks. School children turn toward the noise as they get off their buses.

HORROR AT WHAT HAD TO HAPPEN

Everyone knows what it means. When the big weapons are repeatedly fired, it means units are about to head for the war zone. These are final practices. Families with loved ones about to head into harm’s way know the sound. It is the sound that brings dread to their hearts.

The scheduled date of deployment is seldom marked on family calendars. Some families refuse to even mention the day their loved ones will leave. It is too painful to think about.

The first disciples of Jesus experienced something similar. Warning sounds announced something horrible on the horizon. “The Son of Man will be betrayed . . . They will condemn him to death” (Matthew 20:18). “Leave her alone . . . She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial” (Mark 14:6,8). When the time grew closer, the words grew stronger—and more frightening. “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered’ ” (Matthew 26:31). The words were like thunderous booms.

Those who loved Jesus could not ignore the warning sounds. They also could not face them. Denial, fear, and dismay came upon them as aftershocks. When the time arrived for Jesus to face the great conflict, most could not even watch. It was too dreadful.

JOY THAT IT DID HAPPEN

One might think that dread would show itself among the soldiers preparing for war on the firing range. It does not. The scene is similar to high school boys coming together for the first basketball practice of the season. Faces smile. Jokes and quips fly. Excitement crackles. A mission awaits. They are eager to go. They are confident. Some say, “This is what I was born to do!” When the time comes, they will put on their game faces and take up the battle.

Jesus was not naïve. He knew full well what was waiting for him. It would be worse than his disciples feared. Spear and nails were only part of it. The depths of hell waited for him too. He would scream out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). He knew the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea was waiting.