THE CHANGE
I was with the soldiers when they came and took you away
I stood there with Caiaphas, and accusations make
When Pontius Pilate ordered up your stripes
It was I who swung the whip that cut into your back
I fashioned up a crown of thrones and forced it on your head
I laughed, I mocked and cursed as you freely bled
And when they laid you on the cross, the hammer passed to me
I drove the spikes with all my might to nail you to that tree
Yet through all your pain you spoke not a word
I wondered to myself, could this man be from above
Then you prayed a prayer that stunned the multitude
You cried, Father forgive them they know not what they do
With those words spoken I knew then you were God’s Son
It grieved me so within my soul to think on what I’d done
Many years have passed since that awful day
But now I think back on it in such a different way
When I think of you on the cross, I don’t see just a man
Now I see heaven’s glorious lamb, who came to bear my sin
Today I’m in another crowd, this one’s different now you see
For outside in the arena, hungry lions await for me
We’re told that we may live if we’ll just deny your name
But I know to live is loss, and to die is gain
I hope my prayer for them will be
Father forgive them they know not what they do
For I find it such an honor to be counted one with you
Mike Bishop