Have you ever been discriminated against because of who you are?
The majority of us don't really know what that feels like. Bikers used to be discriminated against, but nothing in comparison to what Jesus went through. It went way beyond that.
You might call this the ultimate discrimination. All but a few turned there back on him.
The Jewish religious leaders of the time felt threatened by Jesus because of what he was teaching. They hated Jesus. They did not want to believe who he was. If they would have taken the time to study what their scriptures said about him they might have believed him. There where many prophecies about him that validated who he said he was plus they had all the signs and miracles he performed while he was here.
They went to the governor, Pilate, a Roman, because Israel was occupied by the Romans at that time. They made sure that all the people turned against Jesus to back them up in there phony claims.
Even so Pilate couldn't find any reason to crucify Jesus, he gave in to the people.
He turned Jesus over to his soldiers to be crucified.
Now if that wasn't bad enough, the fact that he was going to die, the soldiers took it to another level.
Matt 27:27 Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium (temporary head quarters of the governor) and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
Even on the cross, they still mocked Jesus.
Matt 27:42 "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, `I am the Son of God.' "
Why go through all that? He could have done like they said and just got down from the cross.
What would have happened if he had chosen to save himself?
It would be just like before.
We would have no way out of our sin. Only a perfect sacrifice could pay our price. No matter how much we try to be good, none of us are perfect. The next two verses tell us that no one can make it on there own, we can not follow the laws of God on our own.
GAL 3:10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."
GAL 3:11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith."
By what Faith? Lets find out.
AC 13:29 When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead,
So here is our faith:
RO 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
So what are we celebrating?
We are celebrating the fact that Jesus didn't just die for us, but that three days later God raised him from the dead. The fact that he loved us so much that he was willing to do this for us. And because of this we can live in confidence and trust what the verse right above this says: WE WILL NEVER BE PUT TO SHAME
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