“’Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.” Mark 15:32
April 7, 2023, Part 1
It’s Friday. Sunday’s coming. The Christian emblem is not a manger, a boat, a throne, an apron, a dove, or even an empty tomb, but a simple cross. The cross sits on steeples and hangs around necks. Though it is not the entire story of redemption, the resurrection is vital, it stands at the blazing center of the greatest story ever told. The mocking religious leaders spoke, as the shriveled souls they were, making a final demand for a miracle. The spiritually blind did not and do not understand the meaning of the cross of Christ. Let it be known. The crucified King, the Lord Jesus Christ, was scrounged, ridiculed, spat upon, and flogged for our redemption. The crucified King, the Lord Jesus Christ, was pierced through for our transgressions. “Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isa. 53:4). The Savior suffered physical weakness to the point of exhaustion, suffered while in the full grasp of His mental faculties, endured excruciating physical pain, and suffered brazen, cold, and calculated rejection. It was not a beautiful sight but it was the greatest love ever demonstrated. It was in full obedience to the will of the Father for our sake. It was for our sins. Weep and rejoice, Jesus Christ “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…” (1 Pet. 3:18).
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“As a sacrifice, our sins were laid upon Him (Isaiah 53); as a Priest, He beareth them (Exodus 28:38); and as an Advocate, He acknowledges them to be His own (Psalm 69:5).”
John Bunyan