Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

"He [Jesus Christ] was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."¹

Many readers would have seen the 2004 Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ. Many raved about it. Many sharply criticized it claiming that it blamed the Jews for crucifying Jesus and, as a result, would stir up renewed anti-Semitism. Others claimed that it was far too violent.

Yes, I saw the movie. Yes it is violent. And yes, it does appear that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus and yet it was the Romans that violently beat and crucified him.

No matter how violent or how brutal the physical torture of Christ, as gruesome as that was, no movie, no painting, no book, no article, or no sermon could ever depict the far greater suffering of the Christ when he, the holy and divine Son of God, took upon himself the sin of all mankind and who, while hanging on that cross, was forsaken by God the Heavenly Father. As humans we cannot even begin to imagine the depth of this pain and suffering that Jesus Christ endured to pay the penalty of our sinsâ€"and to save us from a lost eternity in hell.

The fact is that Jesus gave his life willingly. No Jew, Roman, or anyone else could take his life from him. He was the Son of God. He could have called on ten thousand angels to save him. But he didn't because he was giving his life as a ransom for your sins and mine. The Jews of his day and the Romans were only the instruments of his torturous death. It was for your sins and mine that he gave his life and suffered such intense agony.

As God's Word says, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Because of Christ's death for us, God now offers you and me a total pardon for all our sins and the gift of eternal life. So the crucial issue is NOT who killed the Christ, but have you accepted God's full and free pardon and the gift of eternal life? To help you do this, be sure to click on the "Know God" button link below to read the article, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" or on http://www.actsweb.org/christian.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for giving your Son, the Christ, to die for my sins? And Lord Jesus how can I ever thank you enough for suffering such an agonizing death to pay the penalty for all my sins? Lord I believe. Have mercy on me, a sinner, and save me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

NOTE: See the article, "Will the Dead Live Again?" at: http://tinyurl.com/alive007

Againâ€"be sure to go to http://www.actsweb.org/christian to read the article, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian."

1. Isaiah 53:3-5 (NIV).

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