Daily Reading

Matthew 27:15-34; Psalm 33:12-22; Proverbs 9:1-6

Pilate was a very wise politician - he was easily able to discern the true heart of the matter. So, why did he still sentence Jesus to death? Because he was a wise politician. He gave the people what they wanted to avoid a riot. Balancing the rights of the people with the right choice is not always a cut & dry decision for the politician because he must weigh each choice according to what is best for the country & not necessarily for the individual. But notice something very important here, he washed his hands of the whole matter & proclaimed himself innocent of this murder. The people replied, "His blood be on us & on our children!"

This statement gives me chills because that is exactly what they needed. See the wages of sin is death. Up until this point, the Jewish people sacrificed perfect, blemishless animals as a way of obtaining forgiveness for their sins. The blood of the sacrificed animal was splashed on the altar as a symbol of that forgiveness. By accepting the blood of the perfect, sinless Jesus upon their heads they were symbolically accepting the sacrifice of Jesus. No longer must we sacrifice animals in our place to seek forgiveness for our sins. Jesus became that sacrifice for us - all we need to do is accept it.

After Jesus was sentenced to death, he was taken & whipped. This process was a scourging of 40 lashes with a whip made of leather, metal bits, & bone. The lashing not only torn off skin, it destroyed muscles & even some internal organs. Then the soldiers mocked him & beat him. Jesus was in such poor physical shape that he was unable to carry His own cross to Golgotha.

Tomorrow we will discuss the mechanics of crucifixion more in depth, but for today I want you to think about the horror that Jesus has already been through - He has been beaten twice & scourged, spit upon & mocked. He did this all for you because He loves you. We throw that word "love" around a lot without really stopping to understand its full meaning. Jesus showed us true love by putting our needs ahead of His own. He gave up everything that we might be saved. Wow, have you ever experienced true love like that before?