It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. (Luke 23:44-49)
It has been a blessing to see how lovingly Jesus showed up in events during Passion Week over the last four days. In the examples of His life we see how we can live, but it is through His death that we can come alive. And so we come now to the greatest statement of love ever as we examine how Jesus showed up in death. The passage above is just a short excerpt from the crucifixion story. Today would be a good day to read the accounts in the Gospels (found in the following chapters: Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23 and John 19). As you consider the crucifixion story you will certainly see many Disciplines on display. Today though, we want to go back to where we started our journey. We want to focus on love. Without Jesus’ sacrifice of love we would not have salvation, but because of His sacrifice we can have abundant life.
Please prayerfully read the passage above and answer the questions below.
Today’s Questions for comments:
- What warms your heart about the crucifixion story?
- How do you share this with a world in need of Jesus?