45 From noon until three o’clock, the whole land was covered with darkness. 46 About three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice. He said, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” This means “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?” (Psalm 22:1) 47 Some of those standing there heard Jesus cry out. They said, “He’s calling for Elijah.” 48 Right away one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar and put it on a stick. He offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 50 After Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, he died. 51 At that moment the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook. The rocks split. 52 Tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs. After Jesus was raised to life, they went into the holy city. There they appeared to many people. 54 The Roman commander and those guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened. They were terrified. They exclaimed, “He was surely the Son of God!” 55 Not very far away, many women were watching. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to take care of his needs. 56 Mary Magdalene was among them. Mary, the mother of James and Joses, was also there. So was the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Wow, in this passage I see a beautiful call and response between son and father. We see Jesus alone on the cross and bearing the weight of sin crying out to His father, “Why have you forsaken me.” The desperation and agony of the moment so overwhelming, Jesus reveals how alone and vulnerable He feels. And at first glance it seems as if God does not answer, Jesus dies with His cry lingering in the air…. But if we take a closer look we see the God who made heaven and earth, the loving Father, answering His son’s cry in turn, in an unmissable way, with the kind of volume that even the Roman soldiers could not ignore. Jesus cried out with His voice, but God responded by blocking out the light, by tearing the curtain in two, by shaking the earth and breaking rocks, by causing the dead to rise, and even causing the very Romans who had crucified Him and dismissed Him to believe in His identity… Oh yes, God the Father answers alright, His actions are loud, He has not watched His Son die without cause, He has restrained Himself for this moment, and now, He shows the world that He is in control. He has not forsaken His Son, and three days later He will restore life to Him, and set Him by His side in heaven, in triumph for all eternity. Wow.

Where in my life am I crying out – where are you God? Why don’t you seem to be present, and moving on my behalf? What encouragement I gain from this. My God answers that cry. He has heard that cry from His Son, God knows how to answer. God knew what He was doing. It is no easy thing for God to watch His children suffer, but He is not passive, He has a plan bigger than my momentary suffering. God will answer me, whether I am currently seeing it or not.

God, please help me to stir faith, I want to wait expectantly for you, even when something has died or seemingly got as bad as it can get, thank you God that you can and will move. Amen

 

Written by Beth Waugh

24 Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere. Instead, the crowd was starting to get angry. So he took water and washed his hands in front of them. “I am not guilty of this man’s death,” he said. “You are accountable for that!” 25 All the people answered, “We and our children will accept the guilt for his death!” 26 Pilate let Barabbas go free. But he had Jesus whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross. 27 The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the palace, which was called the Praetorium. All the rest of the soldiers gathered around him. 28 They took off his clothes and put a purple robe on him. 29 Then they twisted thorns together to make a crown. They placed it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then they fell on their knees in front of him and made fun of him. “We honor you, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him. They hit him on the head with the stick again and again. 31 After they had made fun of him, they took off the robe. They put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to nail him to a cross.

Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent. Pilate had even been warned by his wife (through a dream) not to harm Jesus. And yet Pilate listened to the crowd’s pressure to release the murderer Barabbas and unjustly sentenced Jesus to a cruel punishment and death. Pilate even tried to place the blame back on to the crowd for his cowardly actions.

Before we judge Pilate too harshly, what person can say that they have never given into the pressure of the crowd? It takes bravery and strong convictions to stand up for what you know is true in the face of strong opposition. Each one of us has probably been guilty of giving in to the “fear of man “at some point in our lives.

The best way to not give in to the fear of man, is to fear God more than you fear man. And in my experience, the fear of God grows more when I spend time in His word and meditate on how great and powerful He is.

May God continue to grow in me a healthy fear and respect for His greatness, and give me the courage to follow Him no matter what the cost.

Written by Shelley Witt

27 It was early in the morning. All the chief priests and the elders of the people decided to put Jesus to death. 2 They tied him up and led him away. Then they handed him over to Pilate, who was the governor. 3 Judas, who had handed him over, saw that Jesus had been sentenced to die. He felt deep shame and sadness for what he had done. So he returned the 30 silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said. “I handed over a man who is not guilty.” “What do we care?” they replied. “That’s your problem.” 5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests picked up the coins. They said, “It’s against the law to put this money into the temple fund. It is blood money. It has paid for a man’s death.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy a potter’s field. People from other countries would be buried there. 8 That is why it has been called The Field of Blood to this very day. 9 Then the words spoken by Jeremiah the prophet came true. He had said, “They took the 30 silver coins. That price was set for him by the people of Israel. 10 They used the coins to buy a potter’s field, just as the Lord commanded me.” (Zechariah 11:12,13; Jeremiah 19:1–13; 32:6–9)

This is tragic.

I have no idea what Judas had expected would happen when he betrayed Jesus or why he took the money. But now he sees Jesus condemned he wants to undo it. But it can’t be undone. Jesus dies because of Judas’ sin.

But he died just as much because of my sin. My sin can’t be undone either. So Jesus took spiritual consequences of my sin (death) from me onto himself. But Judas does things the other way around: he embraces the death he brought on Jesus.

(There can be physical consequences too which damage me or, worse, damage others. The world and I both need His healing too.)

I find the response of the priests equally tragic: so concerned about the wrongness of taking the blood money back into the temple treasury, yet oblivious to the wrongness of buying the death of an innocent man (let alone the unfathomable wrongness of putting the Son of God to death).

Yet out of all this wrongness God brings the most wonderful act of rightness.

This is wonderful!

Written by David Cornell

57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest. The teachers of the law and the elders had come together there. 58 Not too far away, Peter followed Jesus. He went right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see what would happen. 59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for something to use against Jesus. They wanted to put him to death. 60 But they did not find any proof, even though many false witnesses came forward. Finally, two other witnesses came forward. 61 They said, “This fellow claimed, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God. I can build it again in three days.’” 62 Then the high priest stood up. He asked Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer? What are these charges that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, “I command you under oath by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 “Yes. It is just as you say,” Jesus replied. “But here is what I say to all of you. In days to come, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One. You will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes. He said, “He has spoken a very evil thing against God! Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard him say this evil thing. 66 What do you think?” “He must die!” they answered. 67 Then they spit in his face. They hit him with their fists. Others slapped him. 68 They said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit you?”

Gosh Jesus ended up in a place where there was nothing He could say that was going to help His situation. Whatever He said the high priests were going to twist it to make Him sound guilty. So He limited what He said and He didn’t really try and defend Himself. He was in the place God needed Him to be and He was willing to be there.

How about us? What can I learn from how Jesus handled this situation? Sometimes we will find ourselves in difficult situations even though they are the right situations, the place where God would have us be. Jesus is with us in those times and He can help us when we feel under attack.

Help me Lord to get a clear picture of what you would have me do. And then help me to stick with it even during hard times. Help me to have confidence in You and what You have asked me to do – that You have a plan even when it doesn’t look like it.

Written by Therese Manning

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him. He began to be sad and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sad. I feel close to death. Stay here. Keep watch with me.” 39 He went a little farther. Then he fell with his face to the ground. He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me. But let what you want be done, not what I want.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray. Then you won’t fall into sin when you are tempted. The spirit is willing. But the body is weak.” 42 Jesus went away a second time. He prayed, “My Father, is it possible for this cup to be taken away? But if I must drink it, may what you want be done.” 43 Then he came back. Again he found them sleeping. They couldn’t keep their eyes open. 44 So he left them and went away once more. For the third time he prayed the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples. He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look! The hour is near. The Son of Man is about to be handed over to sinners. 46 Get up! Let us go! Here comes the one who is handing me over to them!”

Jesus time of suffering is imminent, his betrayer Judas waits in the garden. Jesus tells his friends his soul is crushed with grief to the point of death, and he asks them to pray vigilantly over him. He desperately needs them in his human agony. But they fall asleep after their meal and the lateness of the night. Three times Jesus returns to them, I imagine his disappointment and hurt. I imagine the disciples’ shame and regret.  Despite their failings, and ours, Jesus knows that “this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it” v.42.  Humanity could not be saved from the cup of suffering if Jesus did not drink from it that weekend.  He went through with His promise and fulfilled His destiny.  And I am so grateful and so undeserving.
This passage is so poignant, it speaks to the part of me that knows I would have slept too. That I have slept through times when I could have been praying for someone in distress. That Jesus has been in the background of my days.
Heavenly Father please help me to watch and pray, to help ease the cup of suffering for my brothers and sisters. Amen

Written by Dimity Milne