Today’s Reading: John 19:12-16
Hearing God’s Voice for Today:
“Now it was the day of the preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ They cried out, ‘Away with him, away with him, crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’ So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.”
* * * * *
It was the day of the preparation for the Passover. The Passover lambs were being prepared in the Temple area to be slaughtered for the sins of the people. And Jesus was being prepared as well, as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.
Pilate brought Jesus into the courtyard— beaten and bedraggled. He said, “Behold, your King!” The mob yelled back, “Away with him, crucify him!” Pilate responded, “Shall I crucify your King?” They retorted, “We have no king but Caesar.”
Astonishingly, the crowd acknowledged Caesar, not God, as their king. They subverted their own national heritage. They committed blasphemy—the very crime they accused Jesus of committing! God had repeatedly told his people only he could be their King.17 Yet the people denied their own messianic expectations of a king who would come and free them from Roman oppression.
Seeing this intensely obdurate opposition, Pilate had no other option. To maintain his power and prevent a rebellion, he was forced to give Jesus over to be crucified.
With the death sentence pronounced, Jesus received 39 lashes. This act was nicknamed “intermediate death.” A whip was matted with metal, glass, and bone. Each lash bit deeply into the Savior’s flesh, ripping apart skin, muscle, and sinew. The purpose was to weaken the body so death would not linger on the cross.
Jesus went through all this agony for you. Those lashes should have been yours. Your sin caused great alienation between you and the heavenly Father. But Jesus took the punishment for your sin upon himself so you wouldn’t have to receive it.
That’s how much he loves you.
Could there be a greater love in the universe than that of Jesus laying down his life for you? A friend would die for a friend, but who would suffer and die for an enemy? Jesus suffered excruciating agony so you wouldn’t have to. He gave his life for you. He died in your place.
Jesus knew no sin, yet he became sin so that you might become the righteousness of God.18 The proof of this love is that while you were still wallowing in your sin, he died for you. He didn’t wait for you to try to become perfect before he went to the cross to die for your sins.
What more could he give you?
Contemplate and grasp today the depth, breadth, width, and height of his love for you. Believe it’s true. It’s lavish and without limit. Claim it for yourself. Cling to it no matter what you’re facing.
And you’ll discover he is able to do in and through you more than you could ever think or imagine.
[from “Hearing the Voice of God” by Pastor David Chadwick, Moments of Hope Church, Charlotte, NC]