The Crucifixion

 

 

Mark 15: 21 – 32

 

The Crucifixion

“And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.   And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull).   And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.   And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.   And it was the third hour when they crucified him.   And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”   And with him, they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.  And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!”   So, also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.   Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.”

 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.   The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2)

“Then God said, “Let us make man^] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.  So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them”.  (Genesis 1:26-27)

I know of no one that will argue that my iPhone 11 did not have a designer, yet many very intelligent people will say that the universe just happened.  I’ve always wondered how they could believe such foolishness, after exploring the amazing design, it calls for a Creator.  Could it be that man has the same problem that Satan has, they want to be exalted to the same level as the one who designed them?  

Now shall we look into what the Holy Spirit shared with John the apostle?  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.   The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  (John 1:1-5)  The Word is Jesus, He is our Creator, our designer, but not only ours, for all that was made He made.

Most of us understand that mankind is not improving!   Kings, dictators, or governments, have no answer to the problem of man not wanting a moral authority over them, nor does religion.

One should read and understand, Psalms 139:15-16, “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”  Your Creator, Jesus, not only knew you before you were born, He loved you and not one thing you have done will change that love.

 

In 1 Peter 1:19-21, ^“ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him, you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”   Before Jesus Created you, he knew that you would sin and that He would have to meet the Fathers requirement of a Holy and Pure sacrifice, and that is why before Christ came, God, the Father required a lamb without spot or blemish to be sacrificed for sins the people had committed that year.  That is why John 3:16, is not something to put on a drink cup, but to keep in our hearts.

This is why as a follower of Christ; I am thankful for God loving me so much that he would take on flesh and die on a cross for me.  But it is also painful to read the account and know that my God and Creator had to die for my sins.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice