Normally people are reticent to speak derisively of the... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

The chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
Mark 15:31.

Normally people are reticent to speak derisively of the dead; their natural feelings hinder them. But when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffered agonizing pains while hanging on the cross, He was a target for man's contempt.

It was not only the soldiers and the common people who scorned Him there, but, above all, the leaders of His people, too. They had seen how He had saved others, yet they refused to accept that He had performed those miracles with divine authority and power. Indeed, they had ascribed such deeds to demonic powers (cf. Matthew 12:24), simply because they would not acknowledge Him as the One sent by God.

Only a few hours previously Jesus had caused the crowd that came to arrest Him to fall to the ground with His words: "I am he". Now, apparently, they had Him in their power. Why, we may ask, did the Lord Jesus Christ not make use of His own power?

The answer is: He wished to save us from our sins! That involved the righteous One not only bearing the scorn of men on the cross, but also the wrath of God over our sins, and sacrificing His life for us, the unrighteous. This means that now, because of His finished work of redemption, the call goes out to everyone who wishes to be freed from his guilt: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved!" (Acts 16:31).

Today's reading: Genesis 7:17-8:5 · 1 Peter 4:7-11