March 25 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

John 19:13-22:

¹³When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.
¹⁴And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
¹⁵But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
¹⁶Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
¹⁷And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
¹⁸Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
¹⁹And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
²⁰This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.
²¹Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
²²Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

Devotional

Jesus was on his way to the place of his crucifixion. They had laid the rough, heavy cross on his bleeding back. He bore it until his strength was exhausted and He sank under its weight. But while He carried his cross, He knew full well that they would nail him to this tree. It was written: "He that is hanged (on a tree) is accursed of God." The Hebrew speaks of the curse of God. He was willing to become this curse. Paul explains it thus: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."

It was our cross. Our Saviour took upon him the shame and reproach and guilt and suffering, the whole curse, that He might bestow upon us righteousness and life, honor and glory and blessing. "He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Christ — God's curse; we — God's righteousness: to this end He bore the cross, our cross, his cross.

Let us meditate deeply upon the meaning of Christ's cross, and joy and blessing will be ours.

Prayer

Our Father, we thank Thee that Jesus was willing to be nailed to the tree, and thus become the curse of God; that by becoming a curse for us, He redeemed us from the curse of the law. We thank Thee that He was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Help us, O God, to adore him who gave himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Amen.

---

Scripture in Devotional: Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:21.

Click here for background on Light and Comfort and the author.