Like a Lamb to the Slaughter Jewish leaders already reject fair hearings. (They even refused to hear Nicodemus, John 7:50-52.) So Jesus disciples desert, scattering in fear. Peter denies that He ever knew Jesus. Jesus alone must endure the all-night show trials, the false witnesses, and the raging accusers. Then they spit in His face and struck Him with their fists. Others slapped Him and said, Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit You? (Matthew 26:67-68). Governor Pilate wants to free Jesus. For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him (Matthew 27:18). The Jewish leaders choose to release a known murderer, rather than this Rabbi Jesus. They accuse Pilate of treason, and threaten to riot. So he finally has Jesus stripped and flogged with cutting whips. Guards beat and spit on Him. They mock Him with royal clothes. They press a crown of thorns into His head. Then they load heavy wood onto His wounded body. He tries to carry it through Jerusalem. At the place called Skull soldiers nail Jesus hands and feet to the wood. Then, on this rough cross, they lift Him up! Roman troops, Jews, even two thieves crucified nearby, join in jeering at His shame. They laugh as His blood flows. At noon the sky changes. From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which means, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? (Matthew 27:46). Jesus cries out twice more: It is finished (John 19:30). Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit (Luke 23:46). He gives up His life. Joseph of Arimathea, another council member, takes down the dead body. He and Nicodemus wrap the corpse in spices and cloth, then bury it inside a tomb of rock (John 19:38-42). So Jesus words come true: in giving His life, He is lifted up! Jesus on His cross is like the bronze snake on its pole. Look more closely at the meaning. God could use many ways to save those rebellious Israelites. Yet He told Moses to make an image like the thing killing them, a deadly snake. Why? God pointed toward us and His Son. Our sins and crimes against God are our deadly snakes that poison us. The Son of God becomes the Son of Man, being made in human likeness (Philippians 2:7). In His trial and execution, He is treated like the worst criminal. He looks like us and our poisonous sins. His forsaken cry has all the pain we should feel in hell. [God sent] His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man (Romans 8:3).
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 03:32:18 +0000
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