Matthew 27:50 (NASB)
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Next Sunday is Easter. God incarnate yielded up His spirit, so that we could be with Him in heaven one day. Many sermons will be preached on the crucifixion, the suffering of Christ on Friday that had to take place in order for God’s master plan to free us from the penalty of sin.

I don’t intend to demean the intensity of the torture that Jesus went through, but what He endured was not unusual for that time in history. Many people were scourged and crucified. Nero later used crucified Christians as torches to light his parties. We humans can come up with some disgusting ways to cause pain and suffering.

The scourging and the cross were the means of taking His life, from a human perspective. This was to fulfill scripture (Isaiah 53). But, Jesus did something that was even more painful. He took the sin of the world upon Him; our sin past, present, and future. A small fraction of that sin would be enough to snuff the life out of any human. And He was human – 100%. But He was also God – 100%. It is the pain of our sin that He endured that should shake us to our very core.

And not only that, God the Father then poured out His wrath on the Son. The Son now had our sin on Him and the Father could no longer look at Him. Jesus was then no longer the son “with whom God was well pleased”. It isn’t within our capacity to fully understand what that was like. But Jesus did. And He did it willingly. Once that was accomplished, He yielded up His spirit.

Then on the following Sunday, the day we call Easter, Jesus returned to us proving that He is God. As I consider the impact of this pivotal time in history, I am humbled by the love that it would take for God to do that for me.

Jesus, I don’t fully understand the magnitude of what You did for me. But what I do understand brings me to my knees in praise and thanksgiving. I pray, with your help, that my life will be what you want it to be for your glory. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,