Scripture to Read: John 19:2–7
After Jesus was scourged, the Roman soldiers continued to ridicule our Lord. We read in John 19:2–3, And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; 3 and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. What our Lord went through from the soldiers mocking and beating is a great reminder of the prophecy of our Lord recorded in Isaiah 53:3–4, He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Our Lord Jesus went through all of this because of His everlasting love for every one of us. When we doubt the love and kindness of our Lord, we must open His Word and examine it so we see all He sacrificed to pay the price for our sins. He deserves our total devotion in every area of our lives. The spiritual forces of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12) want us to believe that we should be able to do what we want with our lives each day. They want us to live to fulfill our selfish, fleshly desires instead of dying to ourselves, taking up our cross, and living for our King (Luke 9:23–24).
Challenge & Application
• What did God teach you today about some of what Christ went through for you?
• How are you living for Christ and dying to your fleshly, selfish desires each day?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!