The irony of the mockers was that they were proclaiming truth. Jesus was charged with leading a rebellion and claiming to be King. He was about to be coronated and enthroned in the most unexepcted way. He is crown would be made of thorns and his throne would be a cross. The crucifixion shows the length that man would go to eliminate any threat to his control over his own life. This rebellion is inside of us and freedom only comes when we admit our part in nailing Christ to the cross. When we see the Almighty King willing to die in our place for our sin, we find freedom to joyfully surrender to His control. This isn't a one time length at salavation but a daily surrender. Are finding the joy of taking up your cross and following Jesus?
Everyone hated Jesus. He had claimed to be the Messiah, and to them, that seemed worthy of crucifixion. But Jesus knew who He was. He was the Messiah. And He came to save the world. He conquered death by letting it conquer Him! But that wasn't the end! Jesus knew that we couldn't do this on our own. He knew that we couldn't overcome the sin nature inside of our hearts. He knew that we couldn't be free from the chains of slavery to ourselves unless He broke them for us! And so that's what He did! Our Savior went to the cross WILLINGLY to pay the price for OUR sins!! This is the Good News! We are no longer bound to who we used to be! We can now be who we are made to be in Jesus! We don't have to live a life of emptiness anymore! Jesus is the one thing that can satisfy our longing hearts! We need Jesus! We needed redemption, and Jesus offered it to us through His blood! He can supply our every need! He is the Son of God!! And when He died, the curtain in the temple was torn, from top to bottom. FROM TOP TO BOTTOM! That was the work of no human! It was a marvelous work of God Almighty! Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, the way, the truth, and the life! Through Him we can be with the Father! There is no longer separation between us and God! Jesus tore down that wall through His death! We don't have to live a life in fear anymore! Jesus overcame sin and death and fear and pain through death! Praise Jesus for giving everything so that we could gain everything through it!
ReplyDeleteThat was the Son of God that died for us. He took the mockery and the hatred. He took our punishment and saved us. And in our hatred he showed love. Mocking Jesus and spitting on him "Is he really the King of the Jews?" He is the King of the World! He looked at Peter and showed Love. He looked at the solders and the haters and showed loves. He took the pain for our salvation. He took the grave for our resurrection. I like what Hannah says when she points out we don't have to live in the emptiness anymore. Jesus made away to complete love. To complete fullness. He made the way to our father, by his death! This is the only complete love you can find fullness in. Nothing else. Sometimes when I read about Jesus' crucifixion, I wonder why God would put Jesus through so much pain. It's his Love. He turned from Jesus in his death. He wanted us. "For God so loved the world that he gave his ONE and ONLY Son, so who ever believes in him shall not perish but have ETERNAL LIFE!" (John 3:16) HE gave up Jesus for us. He had a plan to save us. We continually get lost in the wilderness but Jesu made a way to see the light. To see our Father! That's true love. It was no longer irony from the mockery and Pilate. It was Love. He loved us so much to be willing to face the pain and the separation away from God when we turn away with our sin. We now have that same love, that same God, that same power that rose from the grave inside us! That is true Love. Nothing in this world could match that, nothing in this world could change that love Jesus gave us! HE LIVED THE LIFE WE COULD NOT LIVE, AND DIED THE DEATH WE DESERVED!!!!!!!! And he faced the sin, the separation that sin makes. That is true Love! I cant stop saying it, because the only thing that lives! So Amen to what Hannah said above because she is right. And Amen to what the Good news holds because that is true love and the light of God that shined on the cross.
ReplyDeleteAmen! Micah, I love the passion for Jesus that flows through you! Thanks for encouraging me today.
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