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Matthew 27:27-31
After sentence had pronounced on Jesus to be crucified by the Roman governor Pilate (Matthew 27:26), He was handed over to the Roman guards. They stripped Him, put a kingly robe on Him, and placed a crown of thorns on His head and a reed in His right hand. They bowed before Him and mocked Him as being the, “King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:28-29). They took the reed from His right hand and beat Him with it as they spat on Him (Matthew 27:30). Then they took Him away to be crucified.
This is the physical abuse of the sins of man being poured out on Jesus.
We praise Jesus for paying the price on the cross for our sins so that we may be forgiven through His innocence. But what we tend to overlook is the fact that Jesus also paid physically for our sins in preparation for paying spiritually for our sins. He was beaten, abused, spat on, and mocked, all while being innocent of any charges against Him. He took it all in humility for the purpose in which He came to earth – to pay the price for sin, for all sin, for everyone. But it’s not just that He did it that sets us free; we have to accept it in our hearts before we are forgiven. We have to ask Him to forgive us. We must acknowledge to Him that we are thankful for His sacrifice for us. To help explain this better, if (for the men) you asked your wife to marry you, and she knew that you wanted to marry her and she wanted to marry you, but never told you so, then you would never have gotten married; the same for the women, if your husband wanted to marry you and you wanted to marry him but he never asked you to, then you would never have gotten married. The question must be addressed for the reality of the known to exist. If you never ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins, even though you know that He died for you sins for this very reason, then forgiveness will never become a reality in your life and in your heart. If you have never asked Jesus to forgive you, even though you know that He died for you, please ask Him today and allow the reality of forgiveness to overflow from God’s grace into your life and truly set you free – in Christ.
Dear LORD,
Jesus paid for our sins spiritually so that we can be set free from sin for eternity and live in Your glory in Christ Jesus’ righteousness. But He also paid physically and felt the pain and suffering that we go through as a human being. Please help us to see that Jesus did everything for us and felt everything that sin could throw at Him, all for us, so that we do not have to suffer the consequences of sin, being death – eternal death, separated from God’s grace and comfort forever. Jesus came to save the world from sin (John 3:16-17), but we must accept that in confession to Jesus of our sins and welcome Him into our hearts forever. Please let it be so LORD. In Jesus name I pray, amen.