The FaithOfJesus2 Daily Devotional

Focus:

kjv@Revelation:14:12 @ Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

( FaithOfJesus thread begun by rRandyP )

Today's Verse:

kjv@Matthew:27:32-44

kjv@Matthew:27:32 @ And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

kjv@Matthew:27:33 @ And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

kjv@Matthew:27:34 @ They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

kjv@Matthew:27:35 @ And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

kjv@Matthew:27:36 @ And sitting down they watched him there;

kjv@Matthew:27:37 @ And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

kjv@Matthew:27:38 @ Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

kjv@Matthew:27:39 @ And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

kjv@Matthew:27:40 @ And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

kjv@Matthew:27:41 @ Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

kjv@Matthew:27:42 @ He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

kjv@Matthew:27:43 @ He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

kjv@Matthew:27:44 @ The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

Today's notes: Let HIM deliver Him now

Context:

Before - The scarlet robe
After - the ninth hour

What is man believing/doing?:

taking Jesus outside the gates to Golgotha to crucify
giving Him strong bitter drink
parting His garments and casting lots for them
sitting and watching
placing a sign over His head
directing Him to come down from the cross
reviling Him and wagging their heads

What is making man to believe/do as he is doing?:

convicted criminals made a show of by Romans to deter others
given to injured soldiers to lessen suffering without reducing pain
except for the coat probably of little value, perhaps for sport of it
long process of tiring criminal from effort to breath, over three hours perhaps in Jesus' case
message of Romans to the Jew's
expecting if Son of God that death would not be allowed by Father, not understanding that to call for this would be to tempt God seeking a sign

Notes:

kjv@Psalms:22 kjv@Isaiah:53

vinegar = strong drink prone to ferment or be fermented
gall = hyssop, bitter but kills pain
King of Israel spoken by the adoring crowds on Palm Sunday kjv@John:12:13

Key Messages:

What does this say about our present condition?

There is a part in us that sees suffering and can perceive of no godly reason. Blame it on the system or blame it on the victim or blame it on ourselves, there is no/little righteousness to be accomplished. Righteousness becomes their own merciful offer of vinegar and gall to lessen the suffering. There is a part in us that sees suffering and perceives of a sense of justice if on a human scale. Even if God is doing this or that or the other, the sentence is at least serving the sense of righteousness they need/expect/require. There is a part in us that sees suffering and expects God to swoop down and perform something different. Righteousness for them is not something that could have been done by them before it came to all this, not something they could have rallied, not something they themselves by nature and conduct necessitated. Often God seems to them unrighteous for not swooping down at their beck and call. These parts and more swirl about and jostle for predominance within us and yet are unlikely to come to rest on the fact that at least in this case righteousness was being done by God despite the unrighteousness of our hand.
We can go all the way back early into our present devotion to see that not one expectation of any one person other in regards to Jesus was ever even close to being on mark; everyone of us shot short and the opposite direction. It is at this point we reject Jesus because He is nothing like what we expect, we either proudly confess that we knew all along He was not the one or why cowardly confess that will all His promise we were left utterly disappointed. Perhaps from there we expect that He will somehow come back to make Himself right. Is that to say though that His ultimate expectations from us were wrong or that our ultimate expectations of Him were wrong? And if it was us that was wrong throughout is it not Him that is right even now?

Further Resources:

Comment Board:Matthew:27:32-44
index:FAITHOFJESUSDEVOTION - Devotional Index
strkjv@Matthew:27:32-44 rwp@Matthew:27:32-44 mhcc@Matthew:27:32-44
FaithOfJesus2 - Devotion Index

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