I Was There

I was there in the garden early that day
To bring you and your companions to court
When the one you called “friend” had kissed your cheek
I wondered what I was really there for

I was there when they brought you before the governor
When they said you claimed to be a king
But I saw in your eyes there was something more
A strange but wonderful thing

I was there when Pilate asked you to confirm
What the priests and the prophets had said
You told him you came to speak only the truth
But the thought made him turn his head

I held the whip that struck your back
Thirty times plus ten
I draped a purple robe around your frame
And pushed that crown down upon your head

As my master made a show of washing his hands
I was there to hold the bowl
Then he bellowed a cowardly command to the men
Who led you away to the Skull

I was there to make sure you carried your cross
All the way up the hill
Where I bound your arms as they nailed your wrists
With experience and skill

So we cast lots for your clothing
You wouldn’t need them anymore
We split them up between us
And mocked you all the more

I was there when you cried out to your Father
“Why have you forsaken me?”
At that moment my heart was broken
For your innocence was plain to see

And when you painfully breathed your final breath
And whispered “It is done!”
I knew things would never be the same
“For surely this was God’s own son!”