The Same Steps Subscribe to the Devotional

This week's focus:

Located at the edge of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount still stand.

The same steps Joseph and Mary climbed while carrying Jesus after He was born (Luke 2:21-40). The same steps Jesus, at twelve years old, took to get to His Father’s house (Luke 2:42-52). The same steps where Jesus, as an adult, ministered, taught lessons and spoke parables.

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was overcome with emotion when he visited the southern steps in 1994. He told his tour guide:

“I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon.”

He then knelt down and kissed the stones where Jesus stood and where the Church was born.

Mankind stepping foot on the moon was a fantastic moment in history, but it pales in comparison to Jesus leaving Heaven and stepping on Earth. Even more astounding is that He chose to walk in our steps. If that weren’t incredible enough, He decided to make His entrance as a newborn baby, then had to learn how to walk!

When Jesus entered our world, He was fully man and fully God. He stepped through every season of the human experience, experiencing our unique joys and struggles. In His humanity, He felt all of the pain, struggles, temptations, and sorrows we have each walked through.

Have you ever felt abandoned or undervalued? The Bible says Jesus was despised and rejected. Have you ever felt lonely or sad? God’s word says Jesus was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. Have you ever been falsely accused of something you didn’t do? Jesus understands the frustration and hurt this causes. Have you ever been betrayed by people you thought were your friends? Jesus knows that pain, as He knows every human pain.

God could have saved us from a distance, but He chose to come near. He entered our world, walked in our steps, died for our sins, and defeated death. Then, as only God can do, He took it a step further and chose to come even closer to His creation.

Acts 2 tells us on the day of Pentecost, a large crowd gathered to hear the disciples’ message, and those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah were baptized. About three thousand followers were added to their number that day. The Church was born as believers were filled with God’s Holy Spirit and became the new, living temple that continues to grow. You can’t get any closer than that!

With this in mind, may we continue to walk in step with the One who chose to walk in ours.