Wednesday Evening Devotion
Luke 23:32-33
32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
Reflection
They arrived at the place, the place of death. Execution by the Roman authorities. Stripped naked. Arms spread wide. Spikes 7 to 9 inches long, driven through the base of the hands. Nailing Jesus to the wooden beam. Lifted on the patibulum, hanging by His hands; the cross piece fixed to the stripe; feet nailed to foot plate. Time seeming to stand still; each breath a tortuous battle. A criminal to the right and to the left. The innocent man in the middle. The power of sin and death now nailed to a tree in the body of the Savior.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? We all were there. Our sin and guilt affixed in His body on the gibbet. All history absorbed in one moment on a hill outside the walls of Jerusalem. The grief of the Father and the Spirit as the Son absorbed the punishment due all mankind. We were all there, but which thief might we be? The one mocking, or the one asking to be remembered by the Lord when He comes into His kingdom? Look inside your heart. Is there any part of life you’re holding back from the Lord? In holding back, we mock the Lord as being insufficient to cleanse us completely.
Prayer
Heavenly Father. Forgive my obstinacy. My holding back. Search me. Know all of me and bring the healing balm of your Holy Spirit to fill me. Jesus, thank you for taking my place and the punishment I deserve. Renew a right spirit within me, so I may be with you in your Kingdom. Amen.
Artwork: Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross inside Church of Holy Cross in Sisak, Croatia, Jesus Is Crucified by Gustave Doré, and Jesus and the Good Thief by Titian.