Holy Week – Crucify
Oops we made a mistake, yesterday’s devotional was actually written by James Leavy! Sorry for any confusion!
Matthew 27: 45 – 46, 50 – 52 (NIV)
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ’Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ’My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)… And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open…
Put yourself in the passage, you are someone in the crowd.
Not long before you’ve been shouting CRUCIFY HIM, CRUCIFY HIM. You’ve seen the pain and the anguish on his face, you’ve seen soldiers hammer the nails into his hands and feet, you’ve heard him cry out, and you watched his energy sap. Before your very eyes you’ve just seen Jesus breathe his last breath. The brutal spear thrust in his side proves he's dead,
You’re shaken, seeing someone die before your very eyes, it’s jarring, intensely uncomfortable, and you recall again shouting CRUCIFY HIM.
But this doesn’t feel normal. Darkness covering the land, the earth shaking, the rocks splitting, the tombs breaking open – what have we just done?
There’s a realisation sinking in, that maybe this man is who he said he was, maybe we should have listened – what have we done?
It seems to me there’s very little good about Good Friday - it’s the climax of pain and suffering for our saviour, Jesus Christ, as he dies on the cross. If we called Easter Sunday 'Good Sunday,' I’d get it a bit more but today, Friday, is a day of dread and discomfort - we see the truly terrible cost of our salvation.
As I said on Day 1 it’s natural to want to rush straight to the celebrations of Sunday, but for today let’s sit in the realisation of what Jesus did. The pain he endured; the cost that was paid for us to be free from sin. He did this because he loves you. Let’s never lose that truth or take it lightly.
Pray — Jesus thank you that you are the Lord Almighty. Thank you that you love us. Help us never to forget the truth of who you are and what you have done.
