Why Was It?

Satan is an unrelenting foe. He tried so hard to be disruptive throughout Jesus’ earthly life. Then, in final acts of desperation, this enemy moved in the hearts of:

            ten of his disciples to desert Him,

            another disciple to deny Him,

            and yet another to betray Him.

He manipulated

            leaders of the Jews to sneer and spit at Him,

            soldiers to mock and beat Him,

            those in Roman authority to convict and sentence Him to death on a cross,

            onlookers to gawk at Him,

            a criminal, dying by His side, to verbally abuse Him.

For more than three hours, the sinless Son of God, willingly, took upon Himself the sinfulness of all humanity, those whom HE actually created. And, then, a final ENORMOUS blow to the Savior: because of the sins of mankind that were laid on His body on the cross, His Holy Heavenly Father, not able to look upon sin, forsook His own and only Son, Jesus.

So…why was it? How could all this happen to Jesus?

The answer lies in the incredible, overwhelming, indescribable LOVE OF God. He was willing for His Son to experience horrible suffering while He lived on this sin-sick earth, and then to die in our place.

Dear Reader, your loss, grief, pain and despair is GENUINELY understood by Jesus. Because He experienced these things personally, He can offer to each hurting heart - peace, comfort and healing. I encourage you to read this very familiar Scripture text again, slowly and carefully. Let Him speak to your brokenness. Feel His warm embrace. As you contemplate how very much He loves you, offer Him your praise and thanksgiving. It just might make your Easter even more meaningful.

Isaiah 53:3-7a “He was despised and abandoned by men,
A man of great pain and familiar with sickness;
And like one from whom people hide their faces,
He was despised, and we had no regard for Him.

“However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore,
And our pains that He carried;
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by God, and humiliated.

“But He was pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.

“All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all
To fall on Him.

“He was oppressed and afflicted…”