DAY THIRTY-FIVE -- Reactions
As you sit and gaze, it will be born in you that only a crucified Savior could meet your need. —William Sangster
Reflect
Wait before God today, rejoicing that He is faithful to meet you here regardless of what you have done or what you feel. The truth that He never leaves or forsakes you is a foundation you can rest in right now.
Read the following verses aloud, personalizing them as a song of praise to the living God. Rejoice that you are able to proclaim the tidings of His salvation because of His work on the cross:
Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. (Psalm 96:1–3 NASB)
Read
When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39 NASB)
Though the earth has begun to settle down, unrest plagues Calvary’s crucifixion crowd. The few small groups of people who remain long to run, to escape the terror of what they’ve just experienced. They do not know that what happened here has affected the entire universe.
The soldiers cautiously approach the dead criminal. Images from the past six hours assail them, filling their minds with apprehension. The centurion in charge lifts his hands as if beseeching the heavens, his eyes glued to the face of Christ. Jesus’ countenance is a peaceful one, His bruises and cuts seeming to have faded with His passing.
How different this death is from all the others the soldiers have witnessed. Absorbed in thought, they ponder the paradox that One brutally nailed to a cross could determine His own destiny, even to His last breath. A hushed stillness surrounds the small circle of military men, and in awe the centurion whispers: “Truly this man was the Son of God.”
Another group stands in quiet reverence before the cross. There is Mary of Magdala, whom Jesus once set free from the torment of seven demons. Her shell-shocked eyes stare silently at the body of Christ in death. There are His aunts, and other women who had left everything to follow Him, gladly supporting Jesus and the disciples out of their own resources. Exhausted, they hold one another in silent grief, weeping no longer.
And there is His mother, Mary. On her knees, she rocks back and forth with face in hands, not making a sound. John stands at her side, fighting the flood of emotion within.
Some religious men, frightened by the turn of events, begin to beat at their breasts, pleading for God to have mercy on their souls. Others simply shake their heads in disbelief. The last of the crowd begins to break up, and a subdued procession winds its way down Golgotha’s hill, back to the business of life.
Most are filled with relief that the ordeal is over. Many are numb, confused, and emotionally spent. But in the moments after the death of Jesus on Calvary’s cross, one soldier encounters the Savior. Truly this man was the Son of God. In childlike trust, he speaks words of faith, and like millions who will join him in the centuries to come, nothing will ever be the same.
Respond
Think of what the centurion experienced when he realized who Jesus was. Contemplate the sense of awe that filled him, and the faith he demonstrated when he spoke aloud what he saw.
Do you remember when you first discovered the truth about Jesus Christ? Whether it was as a child through a Sunday school book, as a teenager, or as an adult, take the time to reminisce those moments. Relive in your heart the wonder and fresh awareness that Jesus died for you. Embrace anew the joy of your salvation.
Write a prayer of gratitude for your personal salvation.
A Prayer
Dearest Savior, truly You are the Son of God. I, too, cannot look at You in death without wonder. How You suffered . . . Will I ever be able to think of Your sacrifice without feeling the freshness of Your wounds, or reliving the grief of Your sorrow? Holy One, righteous in all Your ways, I adore You, but You deserve so much more. Give me grace, Lord, to live for Your pleasure, to fight for Your honor, and magnify Your worth for a world that is yet to believe.
Reprinted by permission. Contemplating the Cross: a Forty Day Pilgrimage of Prayer, Tricia McCary Rhodes, 2004, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Copying or using this material without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited and in direct violation of copyright law.
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