After being betrayed by one of His disciples, Jesus was arrested and put on trial. His crime? Claiming to be the Son of God. He was tried first by the high priest, who wanted Jesus to defend Himself against His accusers. But Jesus stayed silent.
Meanwhile, Peter hovered around, waiting to see what would happen. Afraid for his own life, and not wanting to be connected to Jesus, Peter repeatedly denied knowing Him.
When Jesus was tried before Pilate, He was again pressed to defend Himself, but to no effect. Then there were the soldiers who mocked and humiliated Jesus. Can’t you just picture them, egging each other on and casting lots for His clothing? And even still, Jesus refused to go on the defense (vv.16–20).
At the end of His life, in excruciating pain, Jesus cried out to His Father (Mark 15:37). A centurion saw the way Jesus died, and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (v.39). For those who still doubted, perhaps the darkened sky and torn curtain within the temple forced them to look again (vv.33, 37).
Jesus was a real man who walked this earth. His rejection was real. He felt the pain of separation from God the Father. He took on our shame and punishment so we don’t have to carry it anymore. And He did this with meekness and humility, surrendering His earthly reputation for His eternal purpose (Hebrews 12:2).
In revisiting Jesus’s death, we can learn a lot about how we ought to live. I’m reminded that becoming more like Jesus isn’t about being impressive, attractive, popular, or rich. We don’t have to be loud, boastful, or universally liked. Our Savior sure wasn’t. Scripture says it was envy that made the chief priests hate Jesus; they were jealous of His power and influence (v.10). Pilate listened to them because he longed to please the crowd and protect his own image and position before Rome.
So often we’re like those priests, the soldiers, Peter, and Pilate; we seek to protect our image and reputation at the expense of boldly knowing Jesus. Living this way is in direct opposition to the message and power of the cross.
Jesus, help us let go of worrying about how we’re perceived by others. Give us a hunger to know You and the power of Your resurrection. Help us reject what this world deems important and teach us to follow humbly after Your example instead.
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72 thoughts on "Jesus Gives His Life"
Good Devo today. Tough reading. I am humbled by what Jesus endured for me. I ended up reading through all of Isaiah 53 to sit and ponder what Jesus wants to set us free from. He took all the shame for us ❤️. Praise His glorious name!
The last paragraph hit home this week. I needed this guidance so much. Thank you.
Do not worry god got you!
Love my Jesus
I don’t want my mistakes and my regrets of not claiming my servanthood to God’s kingdom be the reason that something great comes from me. I don’t want to deny God my Abba Father to please people who don’t care that much about me.
Wow
@Rebeeca Leek, I wanted to encourage you in your fasting and praying. Do not be discouraged by your attempt to fast. God knows your heart and the reasons you chose to fast. The Bible is full of examples of fasting, and you were faithful. I am encouraged by your example and need to practice fasting more myself. God loves your heart Rebecca and your desire to draw near to Him.
I never*
One ER thought about how Jesus reminded silent before his accusers. He needed to remain free of sin so he couldn’t just admit to a crime to move forward with his crucifixion. He couldn’t defend himself as this might stop the resulting punishment that was God’s plan to save humanity. This is a great reminder that things are not always as they seem…… to think about how I would have felt or responded on this day!
Amen!
Jesus paid it all – ALL to him I owe. Humbled and grateful.
He felt it ALL. I used to think that Jesus endured the cross and the events leading to it because he was God, like somehow his power made it easier for Him to go through it. Todays devotional made me realise that he felt it all – the physical pain, the betrayal, the humiliation, and the fear. He is God, but he was also fully human. He suffered as a human. It was so bad that he cried out to His Father and asked why He had been abandoned. He could have shown them His power when they taunted Him, but he chose not to. He chose to fulfil His purpose on this earth – to suffer and die for me and and all of us. Thank you, Jesus, thank you. ❤️
@Heidi, I feel the same. Thank you for articulating it so well. Your prayer asking God for help to be bold in his name and be a good representative of His kingdom is my prayer this morning as well.
This was a convicting devotional. There are times when I care more about my image than doing the right thing. I don’t want to be like that. I want to be the person God has called me to be and do the things he has called me to do. Happy Good Friday ladies! I’m so glad that Jesus died for us, so we can find new life in him.
Jesus was a real person. He was despised and rejected. He felt sorrow and grief. He was humble, loving, and compassionate. He showed who God is. Lord help me to remember my identity and who I should be emulating.
“Ye need not weep because Christ died one-tenth so much as because your sins rendered it necessary that he should die. You need not weep over the crucifixion, but weep over your transgression, for your sins nailed the Redeemer to the accursed tree. To weep over a dying Savior is to lament the remedy; it were wiser to bewail the disease.” (Spurgeon)
It always amazes me that God so often works in ways that we don’t expect or understand. The chief priests and scribes mock Him and tel him to come down and save Himself, but Christ’s power is displayed by staying on the cross. His victory over sin and death comes through His death. May I never lose the wonder of the cross!
On this day it is good to ask myself if I, like Peter, am following Jesus “at a distance” (Mark 14: 54). What makes me hesitate to identify myself as “having been with Jesus, the Nazarene”(Mark 14:67)? What prevents me from admitting I am “one of them”(Mark 14:70)? I do not wish to fall for someone’s baiting me but neither do I wish to be silent out of fear of ridicule. The reason behind my occasional lack of witness is worth pondering. And resolving. Lord Jesus, forgive me. Let my loyalty to You be unwavering. Let me surrender all to You. Especially uncomfortable conversations with unbelieving family members. Amen.
I do my best not to worry about what others think of me because it’s more importantly what Jesus thinks of me (and you) and I know He loves me (and You) just the way I am (you are). And if anything when people are looking at me I want them to know that I love Jesus. And trust me just working with people I have to make sure I exercise this. The last few days I’ve had to do this. It was hard not to get defensive but mainly I want them to know that my self-control comes from Christ alone.
Heidi your words are exactly what I was trying to say. I feel the same way. And Tina…your words bring me to tears. Thank you
I can’t help but wonder this morning if the chief priests and scribes in Mark 15:31-32 knew that Jesus was indeed capable of doing the things they were mocking him for. It just feels like the attitude of a bully who is scared and insecure…Pilate even knew they wanted Jesus dead because of envy.
And yet, Jesus endures silently for the joy set before Him, patiently waiting for the Father’s plan to be fulfilled, waiting to show his power at the appropriate time, in perfect fulfillment of the Scriptures. What a powerful and wonderful and loving God we serve. I pray He cultivates a similar spirit in me.
Sunday is coming, sisters! Praise the Lord!
Tina, I agree. The angst and deep prayer Jesus felt on Maundy Thursday in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Crucifixion on “Good” Friday lay very heavy with me as well. It is like a depression falls over me that stays until Sunday. Thank you Lord for the suffering you did for the sins I commit/repent. That you would suffer years before I was even born just to save me from me.
I don’t seek to protect my reputation, but I feel that I will be looked as a fraud. I didn’t always live a Godly life. I didn’t get to really know and understand the Bible until my 30’s. Then a horrible incident happened and I turned away. My roots have not been deep. I regret that so very much. I want deep roots. I love the Lord! So thankful He doesn’t walk away as I did. I’m so thankful for the forgiveness we receive through Jesus.
Peter says he doesn’t know Jesus but Jesus knows himself and his purpose perfectly. In Mark’s account, the only questions he is recorded as answering are the ones asking if he is the Messiah/King of the Jews. (Mk 14:60-62 & 15:2-5) He doesn’t answer the earth focused questions.
I process my life by talking! A lot. What would my witness become if I was silent more often? Not about Jesus but about defending myself in the eyes of earth focused people? Not to justify, explain, excuse … What if I just got about the work of the Father like my Saviour and only worried about the answer to the important question of who Jesus is? “Truly, this is the Son of God!” (Mk 15:39)
Mark 15:15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas.
I can be so self-focused like Pilate. I am in awe of God’s great LOVE that even still God had Jesus suffer to save us. All praise to Him❤️
Oh, Dear, Rebecca! You are loved with an everlasting love! Jesus paid it all. You do not need to add to your salvation by fasting. Jesus endured the shame and suffering of the cross to redeem those the Father gave him. You are his JOY! We are his JOY!
Heidi, I feel exactly the same way. Thank you for saying this.
Great song to listen to today:
https://www.stuarttownend.co.uk/song/the-power-of-the-cross/
“Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death,
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.
This, the power of the cross:
Son of God, slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.” ❤️
DONNA HEDGER, right on!
Incredibly moving. I would stop to cry as I read what led up to his crucifixion. He is near.
Romans 8:1-4
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. What the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, GOD did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
❤️
Rebecca Leek, receive His grace and love today. You took a step of faith in fasting and that is pleasing to your Savior. Please don’t be discouraged or ashamed that you didn’t go all 24 hours. Your heart was seeking Him. And you were wanting to honor your family as well – God sees and He knows the intentions of your heart. I pray that you sense His pleasure over you today. It truly is Good Friday!
Our pastor reminds us to really remember today. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus everyday and we anticípate it, but it’s so important to sit today and reflect that we are unworthy and that he is worthy. And he endured suffering and pain today, and that today should remind us that it was my sin that held him on that cross. Thank you God for Jesus and thank you God for redemption.
SARAHJOY, your comments blessed my heart so!!!
TINA, I agree with you about the angst in the days before Easter Sunday. Such a hard observation.
SARAH K, welcome and be blessed! What a blessing SRT is!
Let us not hang our heads in shame as is our reflexive reaction, but lift our faces in HALLELUJAHs to the one who gave ALL for us! Easter hugs to all.
Rebecca, i know it’s so easy to feel unworthy, and honestly, all of us are. But I know Jesus has such great love for us and thinks of us as his dear children. I’m sure he knows your heart and that’s the most important thing. Nothing we can physically do will prove our love or worthiness and that’s the beauty of simply believing and residing in his love.
❤ Thanks for your beautiful interpretation
Tina, Ashli V, and Jeannie Wilson, I too have similar emotions leading up to Ressurection Sunday. I feel a bit of the anguish and even abandonment, but know that what I feel is no where near what Jesus must have felt.
Jyndia Ruff, I had similar thoughts as well. Mark 15:5-“But Jesus still did not answer, and so Pilate was amazed.” To what extent did he believe Jesus? I like to think that this trial with Jesus and the conversation with him, along with finding out that Jesus died so quickly, stuck with him for a long time. Was his heart hardened like the religious leaders where he just dismissed it as any other trial, or was it softened a little bit as he might have realized that this trial was different?
Another thought: One if these past few lent days I read Matthew 12 to my kids. In Matthew 12:38-45 is the sign of Jonah, specifically Matthew 12:40 “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (ESV) Three days AND three nights. This really struck me as I came to the conclusion that there must be two back to back Sabbath days. So I did some researching as our calendar, while one could account for the three partial days, does not include three nights. This was one of the articles I came across: https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/crux.cfm that in coalition with different passages in the Bible (which are also listed in the above article) would lead this day, our calendar’s Good Friday to really be the Sabbath day of Unleavend Bread with tomorrow being the normal Sabbath day, and Sunday as the day of First Fruits, which I also thought was pretty cool. I could go on, but I will digress as you guys can read the article for yourselves.
Yet another thought: in John’s account of Jesus with Pilate, he records their conversation. Was John there? Also, with Jesus’ prayer at the garden, John records that as well. Did he hear some of Jesus’ prayer? Or were one or both completely spirit led as John was writting what we have now as the Gospel of John?
Yes, Tina, when thinking about what He went through for us, and me , a selfish sinner.
He not only humbled Himself by coming in the form of a man, He was born in a poor family. He didn’t have an appearance that attracted people He took a lowly position. He rode on a donkey, not on a horse. He was a man of sorrows. He saw our sins and pain and felt it.
I have pictured Him seeing and feeling every sin ever committed by us . The lies, gossip, theft, blasphemy, abuse, murder, betrayal, and more. He drank the full cup of God’s wrath. He that knew no sin, became sin! I listened to a message about the agony of the cup: https://youtu.be/AVk01fgLt_4
We can’t fathom the suffering He endured.
Truly, there is none like Him. There is a song that says: There is none like You, I could search for all eternity long and find there is none like You. Please let me be undone every time when thinking of the Cross and love, praise, and adore You in a way that is pleasing to You and that You are worthy of.
As I sit here 5 min until 9 I am reminded for the horror and sadness that Mary Jesus mother must have felt. The loss of her son was great. She knew he was to save the world, but I’m sure this wasn’t the way she imagined it. Let us remember that Jesus sacrifice was for all and He made good on His promise! He has one more coming soon and that is He’s coming to get His bride! Let’s stay the course just as He showed us on the way to the cross. Very soon…
Jesus died for even those Pharisees and Scribes that hated him, ruthlessly mocked him, and plotted for his horrible death; He died for the brutal Romans who beat him beyond measure, tortured him ruthlessly, nailed Him to a cross, then gambled for his clothes as He hung above them gasping for breath in excruciating pain; He died for the fickle crowd that loved Him when they thought He could benefit them, then shouted “crucify Him” and demanded that a guilty murderer be released instead of Him; He died for the thieves that hung next to Him, and ministered to one right there on the cross; He died for Peter, who denied Him three times with curses, after saying he would never leave Him; He died for His followers that all deserted Him; and He died for the human traffickers, drug lords, corrupt leaders, and brutal people in our current world – He died for you and me! That is so extremely humbling to think about! His heart is not to condemn people, but to save, rescue, and heal us from our sin-stained hearts! What a wonderful, amazing, incredible Savior! May it make us always want to live for Him in deep thanksgiving and gratitude!!!
Isaiah 53:2 “ he has no form nor comeliness and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected a man a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”…
it seems like our culture does everything possible to promote beauty and comfort and these are the very two things that Jesus did not have – he was not beautiful in the worlds eyes and he was acquainted with grief…as being Christ followers perhaps we should be seeking inward beauty and being ok with grief and rejection from the worlds standards because it is there where we are becoming true Christ followers.
Tina, my heart has also been aching this week. Maundy Thursday was a tearful day thinking of what Jesus must have gone through knowing what He was going to suffer. And then today, knowing the price He paid for a wretch like me. I cannot fathom. So thankful and in awe today. Blessings to you. Blessings to all of my SRT sisters. It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming! Hallelujah!
Lord, help me make peace with the fact that when I follow you I will be disliked, rejected by some, maybe even hated. Help me accept this truth, and not let disapproval of some keep me from fully following you.
Holy Week is such a somber time. But… Sunday is coming, sisters! I know we are so sad, but know that rejoicing in the death that saves us is our hope!
Welcome Sara K, may you feel the love of this community. It is such a blessing.
What struck me this morning was how GOD was the focus and center of people’s everyday lives…to the point of wrongly accusing Jesus to death on a cross, THAT’S how much they DEFENDED their understanding of God (and also their rights) …I mean, even the Romans knew who the God of the Israelites was and the power that went with that!!
What an incredible difference from back then, to today’s world…. God isn’t even close to being the center or the focus and people in general (like the Romans back then) don’t KNOW the POWER of God… this saddens me, big time!!! May people turn their hearts back towards God, May HE be the center and focus of each of our lives and those that surround us!!
Be Blessed on this wonderful Good Friday!!! Remember that the curtain is TORN!!!! Love and appreciate you sisters so much!! ❤️
Thank you Jesus, You we’re silent, while they mocked You, spit on You. You died for the ungodly, the sinners, those who were belligerent, those who would deny You, all of us, me. So undeserving the grace You give us Jesus, because You were willing to do the Father’s will and “be obedient to death, even death on a cross.” Today I noticed the way You took it all, no defense, just submission. Lord Jesus, King above all Kings, such love you gave and give. So humbled, so thankful. Hugs Sisters, Good Friday is here.
One thing I thought today as I was reading… Did Pilate believe in Jesus being the Messiah? In 15:5, the language was “he was amazed”. In Raechel’s devotion (Day 12) she talked about this… those who believed (amazed) vs those in opposition (feared). I think they also explored this on the podcast (?). Anyways- grateful for his selfless sacrifice to make right my sins so I can be in glory with the King of Kings.
❤️❤️❤️
Humbling….my sin and His suffering.
Amen!
It’s always difficult to read about His suffering. For me. I can only bow in worship and awe.
Hallelujah what a savior, hallelujah what a friend ❤️
THANK YOU to everyone who recommended “The Chosen.” My husband and I started watching last night – we watched two episodes, and I can’t believe how powerful this program is! So wonderful!
Isaiah 53:3 broke me this morning – “He was… a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” The rejection of His people, the pain and suffering he saw and felt around him… and it continues to this day. He knows and feels our pain and grief. He hears our prayers, even when we don’t have the words. Such comfort.
Thank you, Jesus. Amen!
How often do I deny Jesus?
Oh, perhaps not as clearly as Peter.
Simple opportunities avoided.
Words unsaid.
Fear over faith.
Striving over trusting.
Why?
“…nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him…” Isaiah 53:2
The King of glory wrapped in human skin, relinquished His throne and His majesty to come humbly. Jesus, the perfect Lamb, “…made Himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant… He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:7-8
Jesus did not come to prove His power or His worthiness of our adoration.
HE KNEW WHO HE WAS.
He came to show us who GOD IS and He came to die.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5
To follow the Messiah I must lay down my life (need for recognition and respect and reputation) and take up my cross (His way, His love) and follow Him.
Jesus, help me to give up my striving to live as yours – fully yours. Striving has not worked. The world needs YOU, not more of me. “Christ in me the hope of glory.” Amen
Amen, Tina. Thank you for your comment. I, too, feel so deeply the anguish of the days leading up until Easter. It is a somber time, for sure.
But oh, the HOPE and REJOICING on Sunday that is coming is made all the more powerful from the quiet, painful, powerful love displayed on Friday. Thank you Jesus for Your amazing love. I am in awe of Your goodness to us, we are so undeserving! ❤️
Truly this man was the son of God! ❤️
What a God we serve. Hallelujah for the cross ❤️
“…surrendering His earthly reputation for His eternal purpose.” powerful truth of what Jesus did and what we too can do through Christ. Amen and Amen.
❤️
Thank you, Tina!!! Your words are so true and definitely my feelings, as well! “ Truly this man is the Son of God” HE IS!!!
Tina thank you for your comments and sharing your wisdom
One new learning for me this morning was 14:65 where it says that the temple servants took Jesus and slapped him. The next verse is where one of the high priest’s maidservants sees Peter, and twice, proclaims he was “one of them.” It was the maidservant stirring people up that caused the final accusation towards Peter and his third denial. I guess I always thought 3 random people said it but, this morning I see that the servants were stirred up in the chaos as well, even to the point of hurting Jesus and then turning their anger towards Peter. I am better imagining the heartache and fear Peter faced. And yet, he broke down and wept not in fear but in the fact that his Lord was correct, he had denied Him.
The second new thought was the wording before, “Truly this was the the Son of God.” “When the centurion, who was standing opposite him saw the way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God.” This hard, calloused man, whose job was to dole out pain and death, recognized the difference in Jesus…not just that He was good, but that He is the Son of God. The darkness and veil being torn from top to bottom would have been tremendous proof and yet, it was the way my Savior died, breathing his last breath that caused the live-yet-dead-inside centurion, to boldly declare and believe the truth, Jesus is the Son of God.
Our Savior, our Lord, God’s Son-always amazing.
❤️
Amen Heidi, Jesus knows your heart. I pray you grow in trusting his divine timing. There’s purpose in where you are. I too cringe at the thought of what I’ve witnessed and experienced. I don’t even address this upcoming Sunday as Easter Sunday anymore. For me, Easter Sunday is a watered down response. I see this upcoming Sunday as Resurrection Sunday. For me, that’s the biblical term. I’m at the point in my walk with Jesus, where he knows the deepest desires of my heart. Principalities are real. Division is real, yet beautiful Jesus died for everything meant to destroy us. That’s the greatest love ever. How the world operates has been prophesied through the Bible. We can take heart, because Jesus overcame the world. That’s what I hold onto.
Thanks be to God. He knows our weaknesses, and yet give us the strength and remedy we need to live in His abundant Love.
I’ve noticed that “fear” dictating my decisions a lot over the years… “what will ppl think…. they won’t understand…” And truly the reason I start to blur the witness I could have sometimes is not at all because I find anything wrong with Jesus/the gospel- it’s what the “up front/loud” “Christians” have made of it. They’ve misrepresented Christ to such a degree, i find myself cringe often at the title “Christian” anymore. It conjures up such hateful, exclusive, ugly images in my mind. Footage of actual things I’ve seen and heard from those who claim to know and proclaim Christ. I don’t want someone seeing a faith-based post and thinking I’m “one of them”, so I tend to shy away lately. Praying God will help me find a way to be bold in His name that will change the misrepresented view of who He is and what lavish, unbelievable, selfless love He begs to pour out on each of us.
Yes, I have the same outlook.
Thank you Tina. You said what my heart knows is true. Truly this man was the Son of God.
Thank you Abby for a beautiful teaching and prayer! I so resonate with the prayer of wanting to let go of worry and instead have an increased desire to live boldly with and for Christ. May we all find encouragement in the example of Joseph from Arimathea, who was the first to summon courage after Jesus’ passing, and go boldly before Pilate to ask permission to take down and bury the body of his Savior. I desire to have the same boldness, to live a life honoring Christ, no matter how dark and dire the circumstances around me may be.
(I’m a new friend of SRT and this is my first ever post. I’ve been so blessed to read all your comments during this season of Lent. Praying for the presence of the Lord to be near each and every one of you on this Good Friday.)
Easter week is not my favourite on the calendar. I have not liked it since the realisation of what it cost, what it meant. The truth of Easter!
By the time we get to Good Friday, I am undone. My heart hurts, for the trouble, the pain, the wrong ‘I’ have caused.
I have tears often in this week at the sheer magnitude of the LOVE encompassed in this act of Jesus’. I was so moved by yesterdays study, sweating droplets of blood, that is anguish to the umpteenth. I had to take a moment to re-compose myself..
THIS IS HEARTBREAKING STUFF…
And all for me/us, He loved/loves us THAT MUCH..He would take the beatings, the crown of thorns, carry the cross ladened with my/our sins, pierced in the side, the nails in His hands and feet, hanging in excruciating pain, while watching those He was doing this for, STILL have no clue. No sign of remorse. No heart switch. Carrying on as if they were judge and jury. I hurt sisters, because I was one of those people, still am sometimes!
I get it that this was prophesied in the old testament, I get it, and that Jesus knew what and why He was doing this..
But God..
In His greatest act of love for us, not because we had proved ourselves to have changed, or with any intention of doing so, While we were still sinners.. STILL..
STILL..
STILL..
My heart is burdened, ladened, and lamenting..
But God..
I don’t understand it all (thinking as an ‘of this world’ sinner), but with every fibre of my being, as I walk through today and into Sunday, I shall be echoing the centurions words..
“TRULY THIS MAN WAS THE SON OF GOD”
Thank you Jesus. Thank you.. for everything.. Thank you.. for everything!
Amen.
I have rumbled on..
Blessings sisters..as always wrapped in love..❤