He Bore It All
by Max Lucado
Then the soldiers bowed before Jesus and made fun of him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Jesus. (Matt. 27:26–31)
The soldiers’ assignment was simple: Take the Nazarene to the hill and kill him. But they had another idea. They wanted to have some fun first. Strong, rested, armed soldiers encircled an exhausted, nearly dead, Galilean carpenter and beat up on him. The scourging was commanded. The crucifixion was ordered. But who would draw pleasure out of spitting on a half-dead man?
Spitting isn’t intended to hurt the body—it can’t. Spitting is intended to degrade the soul, and it does. What were the soldiers doing? Were they not elevating themselves at the expense of another? They felt big by making Christ look small.
Ever done that? Maybe you’ve never spit on anyone, but have you gossiped? Slandered? Have you ever raised your hand in anger or rolled your eyes in arrogance? Have you ever blasted your high beams in someone’s rearview mirror? Ever made someone feel bad so you would feel good?
That’s what the soldiers did to Jesus. When you and I do the same, we do it to Jesus too. “I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matt. 25:40 NLT). How we treat others is how we treat Jesus.
“Oh, Max, I don’t like to hear that,” you protest. Believe me, I don’t like to say it. But we must face the fact that there is something beastly within each and every one of us. Something beastly that makes us do things that surprise even us. Haven’t you surprised yourself? Haven’t you reflected on an act and wondered, “What got into me?”
The Bible has a three-letter answer for that question: S-I-N.
Allow the spit of the soldiers to symbolize the filth in our hearts. And then observe what Jesus does with our filth. He carries it to the cross.
Through the prophet he said, “I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting” (Isa. 50:6 NIV). Mingled with his blood and sweat was the essence of our sin.
God could have deemed otherwise. In God’s plan, Jesus was offered wine for his throat, so why not a towel for his face? Simon carried the cross of Jesus, but he didn’t mop the cheek of Jesus. Angels were a prayer away. Couldn’t they have taken the spittle away?
They could have, but Jesus never commanded them to. For some reason, the One who chose the nails also chose the saliva. Along with the spear and the sponge of man, he bore the spit of man.
TODAY'S DEVOTIONAL SPONSOR:
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Rejected by His Father
Matthew 27:45-56
“Son, I don’t want anything to do with you!” These are the most devastating words a son can hear. It’s worse when the father says nothing, but simply turns his back and walks away. Jesus faced this rejection from His Father as He breathed out His life on the cross.
“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
The scourging, beatings, and ridicule were unbearable, but this rejection by His Father was worse. Darkness over Jerusalem from 12:00 till 3:00 p.m. dramatically underscored the chaos and devastation of this rejection. But Matthew did give us an answer to Jesus' question. Remember the name the angel gave to Joseph at the beginning in the birth narrative? "You will call His name Jesus for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 11:21).
God rejected His Son so that we could be forgiven. Because God turned away from His Son at Calvary, He will never turn away from those of us who trust His Son's payment for our sins. The Apostle Paul put it like this, “He who knew no sin, became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
LORD, I know how much it hurts me when I’m rejected, but I’ll never begin to know your agony when You screamed out as your Father turned away. Challenged about your identity as God’s Son and ridiculed as powerless to do anything about your shame—if proof is needed that we humans deserve eternal punishment, it was proved by those who mocked and watched at the foot of the cross. Why You took our death sentence, I will never understand, but help me never stop singing,
“He left His Father’s throne above, So free, so infinite His grace! Emptied Himself of all but love, And bled for Adam’s helpless race. Amazing love! How can it be That Thou my God, shouldst die for me!”
From Dave Wyrtzen
Skinny Meatloaf
Ingredients for Meatloaf:
• 1 pound (96%) extra lean ground beef
• 1½ slices whole wheat bread, remove crusts (I used Multigrain bread)
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 2 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon spicy brown or yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Ingredients for Topping:
• ¼ cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon spicy mustard or yellow mustard
• 2 teaspoon brown sugar, packed
HOW TO MAKE:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, add the ground beef.
3. To make bread crumbs: remove crust, break up bread and add to a blender or food processor. Process until the bread turns into crumbs.
4. To the beef, add the bread crumbs, onions, egg whites, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, to taste. Using your hands, mix together all the ingredients.
5. Place the meat mixture on the baking sheet and free form a loaf by hand. It should be about 12”x4.”
6. In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Spread all over the top of the meatloaf.
7. Bake for 55 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Makes 10 slices (2 slices for each serving)
DAILY SMILE:
Golf Term Explanation
Golf Jokes
Submitted by S.Sovetts
A lady was taking her first golf lesson. She asked the instructor, "Is the word spelled p-u-t or p-u-t-t?"
"P-u-t-t is correct," he replied. "P-u-t means to place something where you want it. P-u-t-t means, merely a vain attempt to do the same thing."
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