Today’s Devotion
Topic: He Died In My Place!
Text: Matthew 27: 30
They spit on Him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. Amen
Jesus died a slow and painful death. He neither ate nor drank anything after the last supper, he didn’t sleep that night either because He prayed in anguish at Gethsemene. Now let us journey through His trial based on the account of all the four gospels:
After His arrest from the garden, He was taken to Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas (Chief Priest). There the temple guards mocked Him, blindfolded and beat Him saying “prophesy who hit you”. At daybreak, Annas sent Him to Caiaphas and the Sahendrin.
There, He was accused of blasphemy and was sent to Pilate to be sentenced to death. Pilate found Him innocent, but the crowd insisted so he further sent Jesus to Herod (king of Judea), since He was a Galilean and Herod was also in Jerusalem.
Well, Jesus would not answer any of Herod’s questions so Herod sent Him back to Pilate. Pilate then handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be flogged hoping the Jews would be appeased to see Him punished.
The soldiers at the Praetorium then gathered the whole assembly around Him. They flogged Him, struck him on the head again and again. Then they led him away to crucify him.
What a way to kill an innocent man! Jesus was to die by crucifixion, but they started killing Him so long before He was ever nailed to a cross. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)
What a shame to kill Him up on that old rugged cross. But such a death was needed just to rescue all of us that was lost. He took with Him to the cross all our sins, hurts, pains, wounds, bruises, rejection, emotional torture, torment, public ridicule and psychological abuse so that we will be free from the curse of this life.
“He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53: 5).
Meditate on this word: journey back to calvary. Watch how He shed innocent blood for our redemption. Begin to pray with the hymn “when I survey the wondrous cross”. Bless God for the gift of His Son and for your salvation.
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