THE PRICE OF OUR SALVATION!

I know that it's still two full weeks before Ash Wednesday, but my Bible reading schedule had me consider Matthew 27:27-56 this morning.  

How can you read this without being impacted with the pathos of these hours?

Pilate, having washed his hands of the manipulations of the priests and religious leaders, turned Barabbas loose and handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified.

• the soldiers mock Him
• they strip Him
• they place a red robe on Him
• then comes the crown of thorns
• they place a stick in His hand (as a mock scepter for the King of the Jews)
• then, laughter, mocking and abuse

Next, Jesus is forced to carry His cross.  Unable to do so, Simon of Cyrene is strong-armed into carrying it for Jesus.

At the place of the crucifixion, He is offered a drink to help kill the pain;  He refused it.

In one sentence, Matthew reports that they nailed Him to the cross and gambled over His garments. We can be thankful that he spared us the details of this gruesome process.

They place a placard reading:  THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Then, two criminals are crucified, one on each side of Jesus.

The crowd now jeers and mocks Jesus.  

The high priests, religion scholars and leaders join in the mockery.

Even the criminals mock Him!

Then Matthew reports that darkness fell on the earth and lasted from noon until 3:00 PM.  What a striking circumstance!  While the battle rages over OUR SIN, Palestine is plunged into darkness!  

During this dark period, Jesus cries:  "My God, my God, why have You abandoned me?"

In 1874, Mary A. Baker wrote these hymn-words:

Master, the tempest is raging!

The billows are tossing high!

The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness,

No shelter or help is nigh;

Carest Thou not that we perish?

How canst Thou lie asleep,

When each moment so madly is threat’ning

A grave in the angry deep?

Reminiscent of Christ sleeping through the storm on the Sea of Galilee, He is not sleeping now!  He is waging a cosmic war with all the powers of evil!  He carries this burden alone - in the dark!  It is not possible to imagine what it must have been like to bear the weight of ALL SIN [past, present and future]!  In these moments, God the Father could not look on His one and only Son!  Jesus suffered ALONE!  For me.  For you!  For all mankind!

Then, FINALLY, Jesus cried out again, loudly, and He died!  "At that moment..."

We have no alternative but to read the following words one-at-a-time, but these phenomenal occurrences happened at the same instant!  

• The Temple curtain was ripped in two, top-to-bottom.
• There was an earthquake!
• Tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised.

You might want to read that last one again!  A parenthetical statement is added in the scripture:  (After Jesus' resurrection, they [these believers asleep in their graves] left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)

A striking result is recorded:  "The captain of the guard and those with him...were scared to death.  They said, 'THIS HAS TO BE THE SON OF GOD!'"

This passage concludes by telling us that "Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the Zebedee brothers watched it all from a distance."  

A striking absence is noted by the reader:  No disciples appear to be present!

Mighty Savior!

How can I say thanks
for the things You have done for me?
Things so undeserved,
yet You gave to prove Your love for me;
the voices of a million angels
could not express my gratitude.
All that I am and ever hope to be,
I owe it all to Thee.

To God be the glory,
to God be the glory,
to God be the glory
for the things He has done.

With His blood He has saved me,
with His power He has raised me;
to God be the glory
for the things He has done.

Just let me live my life,
let it pleasing, Lord to Thee,
and if I gain any praise,
let it go to Calvary.

[MY TRIBUTE by Andre Crouch]