Read: Mark 15:19–20, 33–39 | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 25–26; Luke 12:32–59
“Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39
In the church I attend, a large cross stands at the front of the
sanctuary. It represents the original cross where Jesus died—the place
where our sin intersected with His holiness. There God allowed His
perfect Son to die for the sake of every wrong thing we have ever done,
said, or thought. On the cross, Jesus finished the work that was
required to save us from the death we deserve (Rom. 6:23).
The sight of a cross causes me to consider what Jesus endured for
us. Before being crucified, He was flogged and spit on. The soldiers
hit Him in the head with sticks and got down on their knees in mock
worship. They tried to make Him carry His own cross to the place where
He would die, but He was too weak from the brutal flogging. At Golgotha,
they hammered nails through His flesh to keep Him on the cross when
they turned it upright. Those wounds bore the weight of His body as He
hung there. Six hours later, Jesus took His final breath (Mark 15:37). A
centurion who witnessed Jesus’s death declared, “Surely this man was
the Son of God!” (v. 39).
The next time you see the symbol of the
cross, consider what it means to you. God’s Son suffered and died there
and then rose again to make eternal life possible.
Dear Jesus, I can’t begin to thank You enough for taking care of my sin when You died on the cross. I acknowledge Your sacrifice, and I believe in the power of Your resurrection.
The cross of Christ reveals our sin at its worst and God’s love at its best.
© 2017 Our Daily Bread Ministries
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