Today's Passage - Matthew 27:27-37

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 27:27-37    Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.  As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is Jesus, the king of the Jews.     Jesus is not only an all-powerful and glorious Lord, he is also the savior who suffered for us. Matthew recorded many of his miracles: healing, exorcism, selecting disciples, teaching the crowd. The purpose of Jesus on this world, however, is not just to be a great teacher. Jesus clearly knew that God would fulfill His plan of salvation for all mankind through him. From Matthew 16:21 onward, Jesus prophesied his sufferings and his sacrifice for the sins of this world many times. When praying in Gethsemane, he clearly knew that the time had come. He willing followed God's will, and walked onto the path of the cross.   Today we live in a time where it is very difficult for us to experience the humiliation and suffering that are brought by a cross. In fact, crucifixion was the cruelest punishment of the time: nailing a person on to wood with three nails. Then the cross is lift up so that the person's whole weight rests on those three nails. The person on the cross will die after a painful struggle. This is a punishment that any person, who is sensible, who has feelings, wants to avoid. But Jesus undertook this suffering in silence. What he undertook was not only pain of broken heart, but also pain of flesh, which is more than what we can imagine.   What's wonderful is that when we remember the day that the Lord suffered for us, we call this day Good Friday. Once I saw a Chinese newspaper translate this into "wonderful Friday". This was a painful day and it should be called "black Friday". How did it become a "wonderful Friday"? It is because of our Lord fulfilled our wonderful salvation on the cross.  What the cross manifested is the greatest sacrifice. Not only was the sacrifice Jesus forsaking Himself, but the sacrifice was also our God father forsaking His own son. In front of the St. Paul's Cathedral in London, there is a giant marble statue of Jesus writhing in anguish on the cross. Beneath the statue, the inscription says: "This is how God loved the world." Do you truly know the humiliation and sacrifice the Lord endured for you and me? Once you understand, you will love the Lord even more!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, thank you for your loving us first, and undertook such humiliation for us on the cross. May the Lord help us to always remember how you died for us, so that our heart will surrender to your love and we will love you more each and every day.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!