Key Thought

If you listen carefully, behind the voice of the people shouting abuse at Jesus, you can hear the voice of Satan mocking God's Son. Notice how similar these words are to the words of Satan when he tempted Jesus at the beginning of his ministry: "Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, 'If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, He orders his angels to protect you'" (Matt. 4:5-6). Jesus had refused to use his power and identity as a means for self-protection. From the beginning of his ministry to the Cross he used his power and his identity as the Son of God to help and bless others. He will not be tortured, ridiculed, and mocked into an abuse of his power or of his position. He didn't come to save himself, but to give himself as a ransom. He allowed nothing to stop him from his mission. He had the power to preserve himself, but he loved you and me too much to come down from that Cross because his work here was notfinished!

Today's Prayer

Today's Verses in Context

Pilate's soldiers brought Jesus into the governor's palace (called the Praetorium). They called all the other soldiers together. The soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus. Then they used thorny weeds to make a crown. They put the crown of thorns on Jesus' head. Then they called to Jesus. They said, "Hello, king of the Jews!" The soldiers hit Jesus on the head many times with a stick. They also spit on him. Then {they teased Jesus by} bowing on their knees and worshiping him. After they finished teasing Jesus, the soldiers took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led Jesus out of the palace to be killed on a cross. There was a man from Cyrene walking into the city. The man was Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Simon was walking into the city from the fields. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus. They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means "The Place of the Skull.") At Golgotha the soldiers tried to give Jesus wine to drink. This wine was mixed with myrrh. But Jesus refused to drink it. The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. Then the soldiers divided Jesus' clothes among themselves. They gambled with dice to decide which clothes each soldier would get. It was nine o'clock in the morning when they nailed Jesus to the cross. There was a sign with the charge against Jesus written on it. The sign said: "THE KING OF THE JEWS." They also put two robbers on crosses beside Jesus. They put one robber beside Jesus on the right, and they put the other robber beside Jesus on the left. People walked by and said bad things to Jesus. They shook their heads and said, "You said you could destroy the temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross!" The leading priests and the teachers of the law were also there. They teased Jesus the same as the other people did. They said to themselves, "He saved other people. But he can't save himself. If he is really the Christ, the king of Israel (the Jews), then he should {save himself by} coming down from the cross now. We will see this, and then we will believe in him." The robbers that were being killed on the crosses beside Jesus also said bad things to him.

— Mark 15:16-32 (ERV)

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