Video 4 of our Holy Week Easter Bundle
Scripture: Matthew 27:32-66
As they were going out, they found a Cyrenian man named Simon. They forced him to carry his cross. When they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull), they gave him wine mixed with gall to drink. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it. After crucifying him, they divided his clothes by casting lots. Then they sat down and were guarding him there. Above his head they put up the charge against him in writing: This Is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
Then two criminals were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. Those who passed by were yelling insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him and said, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God rescue him now — if he takes pleasure in him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him taunted him.
From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Read more)
On Good Friday, it seemed as though all hope had been lost.
Jesus, the promised Messiah, hung on a cross. His disciples had abandoned Him. He was brutally mistreated.
And yet, His final words on the cross were, “It is finished.” Jesus accomplished what He had set out to do. He chose a path of sacrifice, to pay a debt that was not His to pay, so that we could have a relationship with God. Although all seemed hopeless, Good Friday was a victorious day because Jesus died for us — and saved us from our sins.
Prayer points:
- Praise God for what He accomplished on the cross by saving us from our sins.
- Pray that our faith in God’s power would increase as we consider His work on Good Friday.
- Thank God for revealing to us the need for a Savior and the beauty of the cross.
- Pray that we would grow every day in our understanding of Jesus’ sacrifice and how that sacrifice changes our lives.
Related Resources
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by N.C. Baptist Communications
