Big Tex is the king-sized animated cowboy who has welcomed people to the State Fair of Texas since 1952. He was born in Kerens, TX as a 49-foot Santa Claus but later was reconfigured as a cowboy. In 1951, he became Big Tex.

He was clad in blue jeans and a plaid shirt and wore the face of Will Rogers. He would greet fair visitors with a wave and a wink and a booming HOOWDEEE, FOOLKS!!!”   The two million annual visitors to the state fair made it a priority to do a selfie with the icon.

Sadly, I was there with my family the day that Big Tex died. We were near the midway when sirens began to wail. We had no idea what happened until 2 hours later we were forced aside to make way for a funeral procession.

A large tractor slowly and respectfully pulled an exceptionally long trailer. Big Tex was stretched out upon it. He was still and silent, and wrapped in a makeshift body bag.

As he passed, the cheerful sound of the throng fell to a whisper. Big Tex was dead! An electrical fire had started in his right boot and worked its way up throughout his fiberglass body.

There was genuine sadness among the fairgoers for their beloved Big Tex.

It was sort-of a silly and yet surreal experience. I thought about the irony of it all. The flesh and blood Jesus also died but received almost no sympathy from the crowd.

He had presented Himself to Israel as their Messiah, and His approval rating was stellar. For 3-plus years He had circulated throughout His homeland healing, delivering, and preaching a stirring message of hope. 

He acted selflessly, spoke courageously, and did harm to no one. If cell phones had been in existence, 99% of his contemporaries would have had a selfie with the Savior.

But He was opposed by a manipulative and powerful minority who arranged to have Him pinned to a tree. And there He hung, just outside the city, along a major thoroughfare.

Matthew’s Gospel described what happened, “Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are God’s Son, come down from the cross!” In the same way even the chief priests—together with the experts in the law and elders—were mocking him: “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel! If he comes down now from the cross, we will believe in him! He trusts in God—let God, if he wants to, deliver him now” – Matthew 27:39-43.  NETBible ®

There was little grief for Jesus, just cruel and heartless mockery. Jesus died! His adversaries assumed it was all over. His body was packed away in a cold stone tomb. But 3 days later, He shattered their foolish expectations.

They had said, “If He comes down from the cross, then we will believe in him.”  Well Jesus was still alive when they said that. Yes, that would have been somewhat of a miracle if He would have set himself free from the nails and escaped.

Instead, they made quite sure He had died and was entombed. He lay lifeless for three days – and only then – only then He set Himself free – from the graveclothes, and the tomb and the iron grip of death.

Texans also assumed that they had seen the last of our beloved Big Tex. But he was secreted away and made bigger and better. He gained 6,000 pounds and was strengthened to withstand 100 mile an hour winds.  He then took his rightful place at the State Fair in 2013.

Jesus is more than Bondo. He truly lives and is clad in His resurrection body and has taken His rightful place in heaven to one day judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:5).

Praise His mighty name!

A PRAYER: Lord, our present grief is for the many who do not acknowledge You!

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you!