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In this episode, we remember Friday in the last week of Jesus’ ministry, the Friday when he died. This episode is a real challenge. How can I encourage you with a focus on Jesus’ crucifixion in less than two minutes?
On that Friday Jesus was tortured. His back was whipped into a bloody, raw wound. He was marched out of Jerusalem and crucified. For six hours he struggled to breathe while nailed through hands and feet to a rough cross.
We could continue to focus on the ugly details of his death. But maybe it is better to focus on the meaning of His death. Jesus was crucified to satisfy the justice of God and provide forgiveness for all who would believe in him. God’s Son willingly endured the cross, not because He was guilty, but because he was innocent. While it was a physical torture, it was also God’s wrath poured out to punish sin.
As 2 Cor. 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (NIV)
There’s not a lot of encouragement in the torture and gruesome details of Jesus death. But there is wonderful encouragement and hope in what his death accomplished. He provided a way for me — and you — to be forgiven and enjoy knowing God.
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.