Did you sleep well last night? Not Jesus…

It was very early in the morning. While Peter denied knowing Jesus, Jesus was going through some of the most disrespectful times in six separate and illegal evening trials. At some point between Thursday night and Friday morning, Jesus saw Peter. During this brief encounter, and as Peter denied Jesus a third time, Jesus glanced at Peter. This glance must have not only brought embarrassment to Peter, but Mark 14:72 tells us that Peter broke down and wept.

Curiously, we are often only remorseful after we sin. In the midst of the struggle between sin and holiness is a time of forgetfulness and folly. It is a time where Satan distracts us from those things we know to be true. I wonder how many times Jesus glances at me with that same disappointing look? How many times does Jesus glance towards you? But I’ve been unaware and preoccupied. In the midst of selfish ambition, self-preservation, and self-reliance, I’ve been guilty of denying the one who created and sustains me. Maybe not denial in the way Peter denied but denying nevertheless.

Have you ever sensed the piercing glance of Jesus in your life? Maybe the small sins, the small denials in your life. Perhaps you’ve sensed Jesus’ disappointment and frustration with you. The good news is that Jesus provides grace, mercy, and forgiveness to us if we genuinely have sorrow that leads to repentance.
Jesus’ fourth trial was before Pilate……His fifth trial was before Herod….and back to Pilate for the sixth time of questioning. Pilate found Jesus to be innocent. Herod found Jesus to be innocent of anything deserving death. And Pilate, a second time, decided to scourge Jesus. At this point, it was still early in the morning, and no doubt, the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadduccees were captivated and focused on ridding the world of this man called Jesus.

Scourging was an amazingly horrific punishment. Without going into much detail, the Romans whipped Jesus mercilessly with whips with sharp bone shards attached to the ends. The whipping split His chest and back, and nearly killed Him. If there was one thing the Roman soldiers knew how to do, it was to inflict punishment like none other. Jesus was becoming more and more unrecognizable. However, Jesus did not once attempt to escape or bargain for a lesser sentence. Not once. At this point, the plan was to release Jesus, but it would not be so. Scripture says it best…..

15 Now at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” 24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified (Matthew 27:15-26).

Look back at verse 22. “LET HIM BE CRUCIFIED!” These words continue to ring loudly throughout history. Picture the landscape just a few days ago.
“A great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:8-9)

What a remarkable difference a few days makes. Their attitudes transformed from praise to poison. Just days ago, they were crying, “Save us!” Today, they forgot their own need. It’s interesting how crowds are so often moved by peer influence. Maybe today, you should escape the crowds and find some time alone to pray and contemplate the meaning and significance of Jesus’ death for you. What is your cry today, “Save us, or slay Him?”
Around 9 am, Jesus carried His cross to the gate on the north side of the city, and the well-trained Roman soldiers crucified Jesus. God paints the scene very clearly to us. Jesus, God’s Son, hung helplessly, but willingly on a cross to suffer the wrath of a just God because of the world’s sin. The wrath of a just God towards our sins.

So often, Easter is a time of reflection. It is a time when we remember that Jesus actually took every sin the world ever committed or ever would commit on His shoulders. It was an incredible weight no one could ever carry…except Jesus.

The soldiers raised the cross, and it slid quickly and harshly into the hole assigned for Jesus. There was no turning back. There was no room for minds to change. Jesus was now suffering on a cross meant for each of us. Think about it. Between two thieves, one looked at Jesus as the Savior and the other as just another person on a cross. A guard who understood. A mother who saw her Son die an undeserving death.

I guess that is what makes this scene so haunting. Jesus was dying an undeserving death. I think that is what makes this scene so humbling. Jesus was on my cross…….He was on your cross……He experienced what we should have experienced. The cross was, is, and always will be significant to humanity. It is because the punishment Jesus suffered was for us and in our place.

It was about 3 pm, and Jesus was about to speak His last words while on the cross. Jesus spoke three words that display His unspeakable love for us. “It is finished.” The unfinished business became finished. What was incomplete became complete. Death became a reality. No, Jesus did not insist on fair trials but accepted the unjust entrapment. No, Jesus did not inflict punishment on any of the guards by fighting back but asked His Father to forgive them. No, Jesus did not save Himself on the cross, but instead, finished the grueling process of totally carrying the sins of the world. He accomplished His purpose. “He came to seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

To those who put Jesus to death, it was for blasphemy and the desire of the crowds. But the way Jesus saw it, it was for us. What an incredible truth. Jesus died for us.

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At the moment Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). Without question, God illustrated that Jesus was indeed the mediator between God and man. His death made it possible for us to experience life.

It was almost sundown, and they placed Jesus in a borrowed tomb from one of his followers, Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus had no tomb of His own.
If you look on your calendar today, you may see it titled as, “Good Friday.” As you reflect on this day, it is a Good Friday. It is a great Friday. Although there was incredible grief surrounding Jesus’ death, the bigger picture was the total and complete sacrifice He made for humanity. Take some time today and thank God for His gift of the forgiveness of sins through his Son, Jesus. Thank God for His plan of salvation. Thank God for His unspeakable love.

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17).