ON YOUR MARK: WEEK 13 DAY 3
Mark 15:16-20
16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
It is painful to read these verses. We wonder how human beings could be so cruel. We wonder how these men didn’t recognize who Jesus really was; yet a much larger plan was in place. Scripture had been written, and now these things would all come to be. These are just some of the Scriptures that reveal how Jesus would suffer:
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Psalm 22:6-8
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
And the reason for all this suffering is revealed in Galatians 4:4:
4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent His son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.
How will you worship God in thanks for the love that He gives us that goes beyond anything we could ask or imagine?
Communion
Take time to prepare your heart for Communion.
1. Spend some time thinking about the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual suffering Jesus endured on the cross.
2. Reflect on the forgiveness you have received through Jesus’ sacrifice.
3. Invite the Holy Spirit to show you if you are holding onto any unconfessed sin, and if there is anyone you need to forgive.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Matthew 18:35
So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.
4. Finally, take a moment to reflect on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. He has defeated the power of sin and death! And He will return again to bring us to eternity with Him.