Day 37- Mark 15:1-20 (Thursday, April 1)

It is truly painful to read how Jesus was treated by the people that he came to save. The way he was continuously mocked and slandered, beaten and insulted can make us very angry. How easy it is for us to shout out, ‘How could you!’, without recognizing that we probably would have been just as easily swayed by religious leaders of the day.

When I was growing up, my Dad portrayed Jesus in our church’s Easter musical. It was a very demanding job for him to get crucified 6 times in one weekend! As intrigued as I was by his role, I was equally intrigued by the role of the crowds in the play. In one scene, they all cheered on my Dad as he portrayed the triumphal entry. However, just a few scenes later, they also had the responsibility to shout out ‘Crucify him!’ as he was on trial before Pilate. It was interesting to see how people who had never played that role before really struggled initially to shout those commands against Jesus, even though it was just a musical. But when they did, it often brought tears to their eyes, as it made it so real to them how responsible we all are for the death of Jesus!

We are all responsible for Jesus’ death on the cross. It was our sin that put him there. But let us also remember it was God’s plan all along. In spite of our wicked hearts, Jesus still chose to give freely of himself for our salvation. Let us remember our own responsibility in all of this, but let us not forget that God brought something wonderful out of this! Just as Peter says in Acts 3:15, “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead!”