Then Pilate laid open Jesus’ back with a leaded whip, and the soldiers made a crown of thorns and placed it on his head and robed him in royal purple. “Hail, ‘King of the Jews’!” they mocked, and struck him with their fists.
Pilate went outside again and said to the Jews, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.”
Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Behold the man!”
At sight of him the chief priests and Jewish officials began yelling, “Crucify! Crucify!”
“You crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”
They replied, “By our laws he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”
Then Pilate gave Jesus to them to be crucified.
So they had him at last, and he was taken out of the city, carrying his cross to the place known as “The Skull,” in Hebrew, “Golgotha.” There they crucified him and two others with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them. And Pilate posted a sign over him reading, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and the signboard was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people read it.
Then the chief priests said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’”
Pilate replied, “What I have written, I have written. It stays exactly as it is.”
The Jewish leaders didn’t want the victims hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath at that, for it was the Passover), so they asked Pilate to order the legs of the men broken to hasten death; then their bodies could be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus; but when they came to him, they saw that he was dead already, so they didn’t break his. However, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out. I saw all this myself and have given an accurate report so that you also can believe. The soldiers did this in fulfillment of the Scripture that says, “Not one of his bones shall be broken,” and, “They shall look on him whom they pierced.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
It is a somber day…Good Friday…the day we remember what Jesus did for us – for you, and me, and even that person you don’t particularly like for whatever reason. We remember how Jesus suffered…physically…mentally…emotionally. We remember how, despite his initial protests, Pilate ultimately bowed to “the will of the people” – and Jesus accepted the verdict.
Remember, Jesus could have stopped any or all of this in the blink of an eye. He could have said, “That’s going too far…I will not do this!” Any one of us would probably have done so. But we’re not Jesus, thankfully.
We cannot get to Easter Sunday without going through this day. What is “good” about “Good Friday?” Certainly, this day signals Jesus’ death for our wrongdoings…His exchange of flesh and blood for the sins of each and every one of us. We are also given the ultimate example of suffering for our faith in God. Jesus died that we might live...He chose to allow the brutality that was inflicted upon Him because He knew that it was part of God’s plan. And sometimes, we have to endure some things that seem pretty hard in order to get where God wants us to be.
We may have to walk away from “friendships” or bear some sort of loss…the death of a loved one, termination of our employment, a debilitating injury or illness, bankruptcy…or the rejection – and even ridicule – of those who disagree with our viewpoints. It may take weeks, months or years to see what God was accomplishing in this. And we might not ever understand it all in our earthly lifetime! But if we stay focused on the Jesus…and remember what He did for us on the cross…we can do this thing we call “life” – and all that it entails.
Humbly focus on the cross today. God is with us…even on this dark, somber day. Easter IS coming…but for this day, “look on Him whom they pierced”…Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
“Amazing love…how can it be…that you my King would die for me.”*
©2015 Debbie Robus
*You Are My King (Amazing Love), written by Billy James Foote, released by Newsboys – Adoration: Worship Album 2003
No comments:
Post a Comment