"Come undone, surrender is stronger. I don't need to be the hero tonight. We all want love, we all want honor, but nobody wants to pay the asking price."
These lyrics from FFH's "Undone" struck me this morning as I was listening to the radio, getting ready for the day. I don't often think about the price of what God has done for us, so I decided to go to Matthew and see just what God, in His great love, did for us.
Jesus did not just die for us. He was beaten, bruised, and tortured for us. He suffered through one of the most agonizing deaths ever conceived by men. He was mocked and ridiculed, even up to His last few breathes on earth. And through it all, He never cursed His accusers, never hated the people who hated Him. The only time He came even close to bitterness or anger was when He felt that God had turned His back on Him.
That is the price that was paid for us. And that is the price that is asked of us, too. Jesus says that we must daily "take up our cross and follow Him." But the difference here, is that no matter how long we bear our cross, God will never turn His back on us. When we think of what He did for us, of the price that He paid for us, of His all-consuming love that caused Him to willingly submit to such a death....how could we ever give Him less?
These lyrics from FFH's "Undone" struck me this morning as I was listening to the radio, getting ready for the day. I don't often think about the price of what God has done for us, so I decided to go to Matthew and see just what God, in His great love, did for us.
Jesus did not just die for us. He was beaten, bruised, and tortured for us. He suffered through one of the most agonizing deaths ever conceived by men. He was mocked and ridiculed, even up to His last few breathes on earth. And through it all, He never cursed His accusers, never hated the people who hated Him. The only time He came even close to bitterness or anger was when He felt that God had turned His back on Him.
That is the price that was paid for us. And that is the price that is asked of us, too. Jesus says that we must daily "take up our cross and follow Him." But the difference here, is that no matter how long we bear our cross, God will never turn His back on us. When we think of what He did for us, of the price that He paid for us, of His all-consuming love that caused Him to willingly submit to such a death....how could we ever give Him less?
Matthew 27:27-53
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.The Crucifixion of Jesus
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lemasabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
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