February 15, 2014: When Jesus Gave Up

Matthew 27:27-50

Amplified Bible (AMP)
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the palace, and they gathered the whole battalion about Him.
28 And they stripped off His clothes and put a scarlet robe (garment of dignity and office worn by Roman officers of rank) upon Him,
29 And, weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head and put a reed (staff) in His right hand. And kneeling before Him, they made sport of Him, saying, Hail (greetings, good health to You, long life to You), King of the Jews!
30 And they spat on Him, and took the reed (staff) and struck Him on the head.
31 And when they finished making sport of Him, they stripped Him of the robe and put His own garments on Him and led Him away to be crucified.
32 As they were marching forth, they came upon a man of Cyrene named Simon; this man they forced to carry the cross of Jesus.
33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha [Latin: Calvary], which means The Place of a Skull,
34 They offered Him wine mingled with gall to drink; but when He tasted it, He refused to drink it.
35 And when they had crucified Him, they divided and distributed His garments [among them] by casting lots so that the prophet’s saying was fulfilled, They parted My garments among them and over My apparel they cast lots.
36 Then they sat down there and kept watch over Him.
37 And over His head they put the accusation against Him (the cause of His death), which read, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
38 At the same time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right hand and one on the left.
39 And those who passed by spoke reproachfully and abusively and jeered at Him, wagging their heads,
40 And they said, You Who would tear down the sanctuary of the temple and rebuild it in three days, rescue Yourself from death. If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41 In the same way the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, made sport of Him, saying,
42 He rescued others from death; Himself He cannot rescue from death. He is the King of Israel? Let Him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in and acknowledge and cleave to Him.
43 He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now if He cares for Him and will have Him, for He said, I am the Son of God.
44 And the robbers who were crucified with Him also abused and reproached and made sport of Him in the same way.
45 Now from the sixth hour (noon) there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour (three o’clock).
46 And about the ninth hour (three o’clock) Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?—that is, My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me [leaving Me helpless, forsaking and failing Me in My need]?
47 And some of the bystanders, when they heard it, said, This Man is calling for Elijah!
48 And one of them immediately ran and took a sponge, soaked it with vinegar (a sour wine), and put it on a reed (staff), and was about to give it to Him to drink.
49 But the others said, Wait! Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him from death.
50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.
I decided to watch a romantic comedy last night to celebrate Valentines Day. About 10 minutes into it, I heard the words, "Sweet Jesus!" And no one was worshiping or praying. Shocked and hurt, I turned it off immediately. He IS my sweet Jesus. This morning I read verse 29 and hurt some more. The Roman soldiers were jeering and mocking my sweet Jesus. Hitting His head, spitting on Him, and saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
Things went from really bad to a lot worse. Jesus felt entirely forsaken. Then He gave up completely. 
Hey, sometimes you have to give up. There's no more fight left in you. It's okay. Jesus gave up. 
When you're on the Master Potter's wheel, just let the blows come. Endure to the end. That's what Jesus did. 
"Jesus help me to understand when to fight and when to give up. You are the Supreme, Perfect Example of this. You knew when to fight. You knew when to give up. Thank You for fighting for me! And thank You for submitting Your body to be sacrificed for me. You could have called 80,000 angels to rescue You. But You endured the horror. For me. I adore You, Jesus. I adore You. You are my Sweet Jesus. AMEN."


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