Day 58: Beholding the Lamb

The soldiers took Jesus into the palace (called Praetorium) and called together the entire brigade. They dressed him up in purple and put a crown plaited from a thornbush on his head. Then they began their mockery: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” They banged on his head with a club, spit on him, and knelt down in mock worship. After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they marched out to nail him to the cross. Mark 15:16–20 msg

From hearing the sounds of His dear friends’ snores in between His own ragged sobs of grief in Gethsemane to observing the pathetic charade of Pilate’s handwashing, Jesus endured a continuum of unjustified infidelity throughout the last few days of His earthly life that would test the character of any man. But of course, He wasn’t just any man. He is the Christ. The Anointed One our heavenly Father commissioned and purposed to receive the punishment we deserve. Which means He wasn’t called to simply stand firm in the face of hardship like some skinny but determined freshman at a military school. No, He was called to bend toward betrayal. To lean into the vicious lies being spewed about Him. To humbly accept a completely undeserved capital punishment charge without any kind of appeal. To mute His own omnipotent roar and become the Passover Lamb.

A few years ago, my friend Cheryl, who’s the women’s ministry director at a large church in Texas, told me she was walking down a church hallway on a weekday when she heard sobs coming from the library. She turned and hurried toward the cries, thinking someone was obviously distraught and needed help. She was surprised to discover that the weeping was coming from one of their missionaries, who was home on furlough for a few months. He and his wife had dedicated their lives to sharing the living hope of Jesus and translating the Bible into the language of a small, largely unreached people group who live in a remote area in West Africa. When she approached him and gently asked if he was okay he responded, “Oh, I’ll be okay, Cheryl. It’s just that I’m translating the crucifixion.”

May we all be so moved by what happened on that very first “Good” Friday. May we all lean into Him, and never forget all that He leaned into for us.

• Less than a week before Good Friday, Jesus was hailed as a hero when He entered Jerusalem. What do you think His followers were feeling as they observed this shocking reversal from adulation to degradation?
• What tempts you to forget all that Christ leaned into for you?
• How would you explain what was happening on the cross to a non-Christian friend?