Thursday, March 14, 2019

HE DIED FOR ME

Matt. 26:1-2 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover celebration begins in two days, and I, the Son of Man, will be betrayed and crucified.”  NLT

       What strikes me as I think about these verses is Jesus’ knowledge of what was going to happen to Him and His willingness to be a part of it.  I think about Isaiah’s prophecy concerning how Jesus was going to be treated and die (Isaiah 53) and I shudder.  Jesus knew exactly what was in store for Him.  He had told Isaiah about it 700 years before it ever happened. 

     We can only speculate about what must have been going through His mind and heart.  It was just two days away from the horror of His sufferings, two days away from being betrayed by one of His disciples and being deserted by the rest.  In just two short days He would be enduring a physical pain very few people could ever understand.  And if that were not enough, in two days He would be suffering in a way that only He could, as a sacrificial lamb for our sins.  It was His purpose for coming to earth, to take upon himself our guilt, shame and punishment for our sins.  He would become for the first and only time, burdened down with sin.  He who knew no sin, endured the agony of sin upon himself so that we could be set free from sin’s condemnation.

     Jesus knew exactly what He was going to go through for us, and yet, He would not back down.  He purposely made the journey to the cross.  He could have called it all off and gone back to heaven without the cross, but He would not.  Why?  Because He loves you and me and longed to make it possible for us to have a personal, loving relationship with God for both now and forever.

     Thank you, Lord, for loving me and going to the cross so I didn’t have to.  Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.  Thank You.

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