10
Never Forget
Tim Savage28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him.29They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”30And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it.
41The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus.42“He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him!43He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
50Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit.51At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,52and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.
54The Roman officerand the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!” Matthew 27
No matter what my circumstances are, they will never come close to those that Jesus faced.I must never forget, diminish or take for granted the agony of my Savior and Heavenly Father through the trial and crucifixion.When I am wrongly accused I fight to the death to teach the other person a lesson.I am the epitome of righteous indignation.I will use anything in my power to prove that I’m right, I want to exact my pound of flesh.Jesus could have, at any time, called down warrior angels to right this wrong, to show them His omnipotence, to have them bow down to Him with His foot on their necks.How dare these lowly, stupid, selfish people treat the Son of the Living God like this.He could have proven everything He said in the blink of an eye, but He didn’t.He didn’t.He allowed these things to happen to Him.He allowed the lowliest to torture and tease Him, He allowed the haughty and proud to insult and disrespect Him; He allowed the spikes to be driven through His hands and He allowed His Father God to forsake Him, for the sake of me.
I must never take this for granted.I must never take this lightly.
By remembering, my priorities are set straight.By remembering, my problems dissipate.By remembering, I can fight the good fight.By remembering, I can serve Him.And I must never forget that the story doesn’t end at the cross.Jesus said that He would rise again on the third day, and He did.This is the victory over death and the enemy that is our future and our hope.This is the victory that justifies who we are and what we do.This is the victory that gives our lives purpose.
So I must never take for granted what Jesus endured for me and I will never forget the victory that He claimed by His resurrection.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Jesus.Thank You that He came, and died for my sins.Thank You for Your resurrection and victory over the enemy.Thank You for the free gift of salvation.I cannot earn it or buy it, You give it and all I have to do is accept it.Please help me to live a life worthy of that gift.
In Jesus name,
Amen
