The ten days are almost over! But we saved the best one for last.
Here's your devotional text for Wednesday, December 20.

 

 

After Jesus had spoken up, Caiaphas tore his clothes, and the mob went wild. They pronounced Him “worthy of death” because of His “blasphemy.” Then things got very ugly. Jesus had to wait in the guardroom for His legal trial. In there, He was not protected. People came and spit in His face, hit Him, and beat Him with satanic fury. Christ’s meekness, His innocence, and His majestic patience filled these people with such hatred; never was any criminal treated in such an inhuman way as was the Son of God.

 

On top of the physical suffering, which we can barely fathom, Jesus had to endure mental anguish, disappointment, and defeat. How would you feel if your closest friends left you, and one even denied you with cursing and swearing? Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples and friends, pretended not to know Him. John was just standing there, too afraid to speak up. All of this was happening the same Friday morning.

 

After hours of cruel mockery and excruciating pain, Jesus got dragged to Pilate. The official trial began. A Roman governor, a people pleaser, slowly sacrificed justice and principle to compromise with the crowd. Within a few short hours, the unthinkable happened. The mob convinced Pilate to crucify Jesus instead of Barabbas, and this weak Roman politician loved his position and honor so much that he agreed to kill the innocent Son of God. 

 

 

Jesus was taken, He was covered with wounds, bleeding, almost fainting, and He was scourged publicly. The whip they used was not a normal strip of leather. It had knots so that the skin would burst open like a shaken bottle of champagne. It also had spikes and sheep bone shards that would rip the flesh out of your body. His entire back was bleeding; the blood was flowing down like water.

 

Then, Jesus got dragged to Calvary. People came from all over the place and followed the crowd. There were individuals in this group who had shouted His praise just five days earlier (because everyone did so), but now they all screamed, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” Rusty, big nails were hammered into Jesus’ hands and feet. He did not utter one word of complaint. His face remained calm and serene. Great drops of sweat were on His forehead.

 

Why did Jesus pray this prayer? Why did He pity them? What scene was He thinking about when saying these words? Do you think these soldiers knew what they were doing? Did their ignorance remove their guilt?

 

People came to lift the cross on which Jesus was nailed. They violently pushed this heavy piece of wood into the ground while rusty nails kept Jesus’ naked body close to the cross with all its splinters. This was radical torture. On top of that came the vast amount of blood Jesus had lost throughout the night. No ounce of water had touched His lips. He wrestled with freezing temperatures. (Calvary is about 2,600 feet above sea level; temperatures in March can drop down to 32°F / 0°C during the night.)

 

What were Jesus’ last thoughts before He died? Does the Bible indicate joyfulness and victory? Why not? See also Psalm 18:11 and Matthew 27:45.

 

While dying on that cruel instrument of torture, Jesus realized how evil and terrible sin really is. He suffered, thinking about how humans had become so familiar with sin that they did not care anymore. We literally don’t care. We drive by dead animals on the highway and don’t even blink an eye. We scroll through our timeline and forget about the latest earthquake or shooting as soon as we close the app. We treat our family and friends so selfishly and behave so arrogantly without even seeing our own faults.

 

Christ knew, while hanging on the cross, that so few would be willing to break free from sin. He saw millions of people dying, although eternal help was available. Billions of humans had acted selfishly throughout the ages — all the way from Adam until the end of time — and the guilt and weight of it ALL rested on Jesus’ shoulders. This guilt was like a wall. Although God was right there with Him, Jesus could not see Him. He felt forsaken by His heavenly Father (Mat 27:46). The devil attacked Jesus from all sides.

 

Our Savior could not see through the portals of the tomb. He didn’t hang on the cross, smiling because things would be alright again after three days. He hung there with the fear that all this sin was so offensive that it would forever separate Him from His heavenly Father. Would God accept this sacrifice? Was resurrection guaranteed — with all this guilt of sin? Jesus had to rely on the evidence previously given to Him.

 

The greatest “But If Not” moment in the history of the universe was not when three Hebrew boys were thrown into a fiery furnace. It wasn’t when John the Baptist surrendered everything in prison. It wasn’t when Joseph, Daniel, or Job chose to follow God despite their suffering and shame. The greatest “But If Not” moment was when Jesus, our loving Savior and Redeemer, said, “Yes, I will die FOR YOU, even if that means eternal separation from my heavenly Father.”

 

Do you know that in order to save us, Jesus could have chosen to die by the sword? Do you realize that He could have chosen another form of death? If we decide to live selfishly, death is the only result (Romans 6:23). Jesus came to die for us — but the immense amount of torture, pain, and agony was not necessary to save us. Why did He do it, then?

 

By voluntarily choosing to go through this ordeal of torture and unprecedented pain, God wanted to show us that there is nothing that He would not do to save us. He went above and beyond. He risked it all. He suffered and died for you despite the threat of eternal separation. This love is so great, words cannot describe it. We cannot fully fathom it. But when we look at Calvary, how easy is it for us to say, “LORD, I follow you through any trial because I know You can deliver me. But if not, I know You are still good. You risked it all. You didn’t forsake me, so I won’t forsake You. I will not compromise for a single moment. I will love you until the end.”