Too Small a Price

I awoke to hear the jailer
Turn the key and push the door
"Get out here!", he shouted
But I stayed there on the floor
Frozen in the terror
That rose and filled my brain
For I knew what they intended
I could not face the pain

Then soldiers came into the cell
And they dragged me to the yard
They threw me down before a cross
And brought the whip down hard
"Carry it!", they shouted
As I struggled to my feet
I put my shoulder under it
And dragged it to the street

I stumbled through a wall of screams
As they drove me through the gate
It seemed that thousands lined the streets
Their voices filled with hate
Like a wolf pack in the night
That moves in for the kill
They closed the gap and followed us
As we started up the hill

And it seemed I'd barely reached the top
When they grabbed me from behind
They threw the cross down under me
And tied the ropes that bind
The arms close to the beams
As they nailed the feet and hands
And they raised the cross up in the air
And dropped it in its stand

Through a blur of pain
I saw the cross there next to mine
There were people all around it
So, I looked to read the sign
It was nailed there up above His head
So, the world could see the news
That the man who seemed so helpless there
Was the King of all the Jews

Well, the crowd that stood around his cross
Made jokes about his name
They shouted, laughed, and spat on him
So, I joined in the game
Then I said, "Hey! If you're the King
Why don't You get us down from here?"
The taunt just sounded hollow
And it echoed in my ears

As He looked at me with eyes
That seemed to reach into my heart
They shone a light on all my lies
And tore my life apart
There was more that lay behind that gaze
Then simply blood and clay
But knowing was too much for me
I had to look away

Then I chanced another look at Him
As He was lookin' down
Where the soldiers who just crucified us
Drank there on the ground
And although He spoke them quietly
Somehow His words came through
He said, "Father, please forgive them
They don't know what they do"

Then as if they heard Him speakin'
The crowd began to roar
Whipped to frenzy by the priests
Who urged them on to more
But the worse the accusations
The plainer I could see
The guilt of the accusers
Not the One there next to me

Then the man upon the other cross
Began to curse and swear
But his voice was filled with venom
As he hurled it through the air
When all the horror that was in him
And had laid his life to waste
Came out in every syllable
He flung in Jesus' face

And Jesus only looked at him
But something rose inside of me
And in spite of all that watched us there
It couldn't be denied
Because his righteousness and innocence
Were shining bright and strong
I just couldn't keep my silence
And that cursing still went on

I cried out, "Don't you fear the wrath of God
Even at the end?
You'll curse us both into the pit
Is that what you intend?
We're only getting what we're due
We've sinned our whole lives long
But don't you talk to Him that way
Cause He's done nothin' wrong!"

Then with all my courage
In a voice quite not my own
I asked him, "Lord remember me
When You come into Your throne"
He answered me and even then
His love was undisguised
He said, "Before the sun has set today
You'll be with Me in paradise"

Well, he shouts and curses did not stop
Even when the sunlight ceased
But somehow in the midst of it
My soul had been released
And though the agony continued
It was still too small a price
To be allowed to hear those words
And to die beside the Christ