Key Passage
People walked by and said bad things to Jesus. They shook their heads and said, “You said you could destroy the temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross!”
— Mark 15:29-30 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key Thought
If you listen carefully, behind the voice of the people shouting abuse at Jesus, you can hear the voice of Satan mocking God’s Son. Notice how similar these words are to the words of Satan when he tempted Jesus at the beginning of his ministry: “Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, He orders his angels to protect you'” (Matt. 4:5-6). Jesus had refused to use his power and identity as a means for self-protection. From the beginning of his ministry to the Cross he used his power and his identity as the Son of God to help and bless others. He will not be tortured, ridiculed, and mocked into an abuse of his power or of his position. He didn’t come to save himself, but to give himself as a ransom. He allowed nothing to stop him from his mission. He had the power to preserve himself, but he loved you and me too much to come down from that Cross because his work here was not finished!
Prayer
Praise to you, O God, LORD of heaven and earth. Praise to you, King Jesus, for your gracious and sacrificial love. Praise to you, O Holy Spirit, for you are God’s presence and power—the gift sent by the Savior to remind me that I’m heaven bound. Without your grace, your sacrifice, and your presence, I would be hopelessly lost! Amen.
Related Scriptures
In the same way, the Son of Man did not come for other people to serve him. But the Son of Man came to serve other people. The Son of Man came to give his life to save many people.”
— Mark 10:45
People made fun of him, and his friends left him. He was a man that had much pain. He knew sickness very well. People did not even give him the honor of looking at him. We did not even notice him. But he took our troubles and made them his. He bore our pain, and we thought God was punishing him. We thought God beat him {for something he did}. But he was given pain to suffer for the wrong things we did. He was crushed for our guilt. A debt we owed—our punishment—was given to him. We were healed (forgiven) because of his pain.
— Isaiah 53:3-5
“So, all the Jewish people should know this truly: God has made Jesus to be Lord and Christ. He is the man you nailed to the cross!” When the people heard this, they felt very, very sorry. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you. It is also for your children and for the people that are far away. It is for every person that the Lord our God calls to himself.” Peter warned them with many other words; he begged them, “Save yourselves from the evil of the people that live now!”
— Acts 2:36-40
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