What
was the Hardest Mountain Ever Climbed?
If
you are like most people you have probably guessed Mt. Everest, which has errantly been dubbed the "hardest mountain"
to ever be conquered. However, this is not the correct answer. The correct answer is Mt. Calvary. This is a mountain that
only one person has ever been able to conquer in the history of the world. Mt. Calvary is located in the country of Israel.
Yes, Israel! The only time this mountain has ever been conquered was some 2,000 years ago.
Who was its conqueror? Its conqueror was Jesus Christ. You see,
the reason Mt. Calvary was the hardest mountain to ever be climbed is because prior to climbing this mountain, the scriptures
tell us that Jesus was severely beaten for you and for me. The scriptures tell us, "when they saw him (climbing up Mt.
Calvary), he was beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know he was a person" (Isaiah 52:12). As Jesus
began His ascent up Mt. Calvary, he had already had his beard pulled off of his face (Isaiah 50:6), he had been spit upon,
mocked, severely beaten, and a crown of twisted thorns had been pressed down deeply into his skull, with the flesh on his
back torn open from being flogged (cf. Matthew 27:26-31; Isaiah 50:6; Psalm 22).
This was the condition Jesus was in as he began his ascent up Mt. Calvary. However, the physical torture Jesus went
through before climbing Mt. Calvary was the easy part. The hard part was still to come. The Bible tells us that when Jesus
successfully made it to the top of this fierce Mountain, the Roman soldiers violently hammered nails through his hands, and
feet, attaching him to the very cross he carried up the Mountain. Like many mountain climbers before him, who have tried to
conquer an impossible climb, Jesus died.
However,
the story does not end there. Mt. Calvary did not conquer Jesus. The Bible tells us that Jesus conquered Mt. Calvary by defeating
death. After dying on the cross and being buried in a tomb, Jesus rose from the dead after 3 Days, and was seen by over 500
eye-witnesses at one time! (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:6). If defeating death is not difficult enough, listen to what happened next!
What happened next was the most difficult part of the entire climb! When Jesus set out to conquer the hardest mountain to
ever be climbed, he knew the hardest part of this entire event would be the fact that he would have to actually appease
the wrath of God for you and for me (Romans 5:9), in order to be successful. He died so that we could have the opportunity
to escape the coming judgment (Hebrews 9:27-28). The Bible tells us, "God showed his great love for us by sending Christ
to die for us while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:8), and "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED!" (Romans 10:9-10) Don't wait another
moment! Turn to Jesus, and He will save you.
