Daily Reading

Matthew 27:35-66; Psalm 34:1-10; Proverbs 9:7-8

Notice the amount of people who watched Jesus die & their attitudes: the Roman soldiers treated Him like any other prisoner; the chief priests, robbers, and other bystanders hurled insults at Him - watching to see if any new miracles would be performed; His mother & followers quietly supported Him. It reminds me once again of the relationship Jesus was always teaching about. Those that loved Him grieved for Him with dignity. Those that were jealous of Him enjoyed watching Him suffer. Do you fear for the hearts of those that can mock a dying man?

Crucifixion is one of the most horrible ways to die. It is intensely painful - the stakes through the wrists & feet crush & destroy nerves, sending waves of pain every time the victim moves; the scourging left the back open & raw, which grates against the rough wooden post every time the victim moves; the weight of the body pulling on the staked arms slowly pulls the arms out of socket every time the victim relaxes his body. So why does the victim move? Because he is slowly suffocating. Hanging on the cross impedes the ability to inhale, so the victim must push up again the block of wood placed below his feet in order to lift himself high enough to take in a breath. This horror continues to happen until the victim is too tired to continue to lift himself up and he suffocates. It can take hours, even days for the victim to die, Jesus was in such bad physical shape from the beatings & scourging that he died relatively quickly.

While He hung on the cross, the sky darkened. When He died - the curtain that separated the holy place from the holy of holies tore from the top to the bottom. This curtain was in place to separate the people from the presence of God. The tearing of the curtain symbolized the redeeming work of Jesus' death. His sacrifice opened the door for a renewed relationship with God Himself, for Jesus' sacrifice once & fore all provided us forgiveness of our sins & brought us back to a place of fellowship with God. At the same time, a great earthquake shook the land & many godly people came back to life. Pretty incredible. The chief priests & other bystanders wanted to see Jesus perform one last miracle - hmmmm . . . I would say His death brought many miracles. In fact, these miracles were so convincing that non-Jewish soldiers recognized the importance of this event.

These miracles were so convincing that the chief priests started to doubt . . . they remembered His prophecy that He would come back to life. So they got permission to seal His tomb & post guards to ensure that no one messed with the tomb.

As we continue to edge closer to Easter Sunday - please take time to meditate on the incredible gift Jesus gave us through His sacrifice.