Jesus knew from His first conscious moments why He had come to earth.

Didn’t Jesus come to teach? Yes, but our real problem is way too deep for teachers. Jesus came to work miracles too. But that was not the main reason He came either.

Here’s why Jesus came: without the shedding of blood, there was no forgiving your sin and my sin (see Hebrews 9:22). And we all have a lot of sin that had to be forgiven—and still needs to be forgiven each day. And that required blood.

The Son of God came as a teacher. He came as a healer. But ultimately, He came as the Lamb of God. And do you know what lambs are for in the Jewish economy? Slaughter.

So the Roman soldiers, after cruelly beating, whipping, and mocking Jesus, crucified Him.

The written notice of the charge against Him read, “The King of the Jews.” That was to stick it to the Jewish people: “You claim you’re a nation and have a king. Well, here’s your king, up on a cross, being crucified,” the notice seemed to say. “The Roman Empire wants you to know that you’re nothing.” So there Jesus hung in wracking pain.

But the people weren’t done. Those who passed by “hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!’” (Mark 15:29–30, NIV). Earlier Jesus had said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19, NIV). Jesus had meant His body, but the people had misinterpreted it.

“In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves” (Mark 15:31, NIV). Imagine, the people who knew the Old Testament best were mocking the Son of the living God. Talk about blindness! These people knew the rules and regulations about every holiday, how people should eat, what couldn’t be done on the Sabbath. But a personal knowledge of God? They knew absolutely nothing. Right in front of them stood God in the flesh, Emmanuel—and they had no idea.

That’s a lesson for all of us. We can have religion yet not know Jesus from the man in the moon. That’s frightening, isn’t it? We might memorize the Bible, but do we know Jesus? Do we know who God really is? Do we know His character? Think of the damage to the Christian church and message that has been done by so-called Christians who quote the Bible and then act in horrid ways.

The Romans crucified two criminals with Jesus, one on each side of Him. They heaped insults on Him too.

So here we see the physical, mental, and emotional suffering of Christ. Beating, spitting, mocking. Being nailed to a cross. Imagine the aloneness of it.

From nine to twelve, Jesus hung on the cross. At noon the sky went black, and then Jesus expired at three. Usually death by crucifixion lasted two days, although sometimes a dying person’s legs were broken to speed up the process. Jesus did not make it even a day.

But this is why He came. Jesus went through all this pain for no other reason than you and me. Oh, how He loves us.

Keep yourself in His love today. Jesus loved us. He loves us, present tense. He’s going to bless us today. Or do you think, after dying on the cross, that Jesus is going to curse us? The enemy wants to take away from our hearts what Jesus did on the cross and the great love He showed us. The devil wants us to live in a state of perpetual suspension spiritually, thinking, “I don’t know. I’d better behave so Jesus will love me.” We can’t fall for that. Jesus loves us!

Are we worthy of His love? No. But that’s what makes us love Jesus back. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5, NKJV). Let’s love Jesus today with all our hearts. For real.

Prayer

We love You, Jesus. Thank You for coming to earth as the Lamb of God to take our place on the cross. We don’t deserve what You did for us—but oh, we receive Your love. What a privilege it is to love You back.

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