The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 19:1-3,
"Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, 'Hail, king of the Jews!' And they slapped him in the face."
The NIV Quest Study Bible explains what flogging was, "Flogging was a ruthless punishment in which a person was hit with a leather whip comprised of multiple strands that contained sharp bits of bone or metal embedded in the ends. It left the back raw and bleeding, sometimes exposing bones and organs. Floggings occasionally even caused death." If you saw Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ", you saw the flogging dramatized in film. Not something easily forgotten. Absolutely horrific.
Coupled with the humiliation the soldiers heaped on him, a crown of thorns jammed in his head, the beatings and slappings, and finally the crucifixion, it all makes for an appalling and dreadful account. Why did Jesus suffer such a frightful death?
We read in Isaiah 53:4-6, "Surely he [the "servant", Jesus Christ] took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
From this Isaiah passage, written 700 + years before Jesus Christ came to planet earth, we learn that God takes credit for the punishment that his Son received. When Jesus Christ suffered and died on that cross, it was to pay the penalty for all of mankind's sins, everyone, everywhere for all time. As a righteous and holy God, the Father's court of judgment had to be satisfied for us sinners to gain eternal life with him. Jesus Christ paid that penalty on our behalf. We get the benefit if and when we embrace him in faith. That is all he asks.
The brutal nature of this punishment Jesus Christ received speaks of two very important aspects of God. The first is that God the Father has always been, and still is, a God of justice and righteousness. Having the Son of his love suffer on our behalf (the payment of sins is fungible) displays the horrifying nature of God's judgment. The writer of Hebrews tells us "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31.
The other aspect of the brutal nature of this punishment is that it speaks of the unbelievable love God the Father has for mankind in not sparing his Son but to provide him on our behalf as an acceptable sacrifice. This he did to satisfy the demands of his justice in making a way for us. It also displays the tremendous love of Jesus Christ in his willingness to suffer such an appalling death so that we might have the opportunity to join his family. "For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, 'Hail, king of the Jews!' And they slapped him in the face."
The NIV Quest Study Bible explains what flogging was, "Flogging was a ruthless punishment in which a person was hit with a leather whip comprised of multiple strands that contained sharp bits of bone or metal embedded in the ends. It left the back raw and bleeding, sometimes exposing bones and organs. Floggings occasionally even caused death." If you saw Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ", you saw the flogging dramatized in film. Not something easily forgotten. Absolutely horrific.
Coupled with the humiliation the soldiers heaped on him, a crown of thorns jammed in his head, the beatings and slappings, and finally the crucifixion, it all makes for an appalling and dreadful account. Why did Jesus suffer such a frightful death?
We read in Isaiah 53:4-6, "Surely he [the "servant", Jesus Christ] took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
From this Isaiah passage, written 700 + years before Jesus Christ came to planet earth, we learn that God takes credit for the punishment that his Son received. When Jesus Christ suffered and died on that cross, it was to pay the penalty for all of mankind's sins, everyone, everywhere for all time. As a righteous and holy God, the Father's court of judgment had to be satisfied for us sinners to gain eternal life with him. Jesus Christ paid that penalty on our behalf. We get the benefit if and when we embrace him in faith. That is all he asks.
The brutal nature of this punishment Jesus Christ received speaks of two very important aspects of God. The first is that God the Father has always been, and still is, a God of justice and righteousness. Having the Son of his love suffer on our behalf (the payment of sins is fungible) displays the horrifying nature of God's judgment. The writer of Hebrews tells us "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31.
The other aspect of the brutal nature of this punishment is that it speaks of the unbelievable love God the Father has for mankind in not sparing his Son but to provide him on our behalf as an acceptable sacrifice. This he did to satisfy the demands of his justice in making a way for us. It also displays the tremendous love of Jesus Christ in his willingness to suffer such an appalling death so that we might have the opportunity to join his family. "For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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