Crucify Him!

Mark 15:1-39

“Crucify him!”

“Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

“He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can't save himself! Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!”

At this brief interval, the Man who crowds walked miles to see, was alone, mocked and killed. Where were the people He healed? The people He taught? The people He fed? Not to be found in this crowd. This Man who spent His life loving people is hated and ridiculed by His own people. His own family! Even His disciples, those who He pulled closest to Him, who He told His secrets to, abandoned Him.

Finally came the final straw... “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” It seems to Jesus that even His Father turned His back on Him.

How this must have hurt You, to be rejected by the very people You came to serve, to save, to heal! They rejected You, or were too afraid of the consequences to truly love You. And Your Father in heaven who You faithfully obeyed even to the point of death, even He seems to abandons You.

Beyond the pain of emotional isolation, there is the futility of pride here. How does a mere mortal mock God and live? We try to control life but it is out of our control. But here, in this fragment of the story, we see evil triumph and good take a hit.

But even in the darkness, there are those who see... “This man truly was the Son of God!” This is how I want to be, I want to see You in truth. Even with all that went on, this man was still able to see through it all to the truth.

Father, open the eyes of my heart. I want to see You.