Title
He Made It To Calvary
Scripture
Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.
(Mark 15:44)
Devotional
There are three aspects to the Passion and death of Christ: The physical, the emotional and the spiritual. Each realm has never been exceeded in its scope of suffering. The three together are unimaginable. Our text deals with what Christ endured physically. He first of all had to be physically exhausted from sleep deprivation: from the anguish of the garden, to the all night mockery of a trial, to His appearing before Pilot and Herod. Isaiah defined the brutality of His scourging to the point that He was not recognizable as a man. (1) His face was beaten beyond recognition and a horrid crown of thorns was driven into His head. His flesh was flayed, exposing muscles and tendons. He collapsed on the Via Dolorosa under the weight of His cross. Pilate should not have marveled that Christ had died so soon on the cross; he should have marveled that He was physically able to make it to Calvary.
(1) Isaiah 53
Thought For The Night
“All historians must confess that the turning point of the race is the cross of Christ. It would be impossible to fix any other hinge of history. From that moment the power of evil received its mortal wound. It dies hard, but from that hour it was doomed.” Charles H. Spurgeon in the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit
Evening Text
Mark 15:44: Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.
Looking for Answers
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Have you ever considered the suffering of the Father while Christ suffered here on earth?
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Does all sin go to Calvary?
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Have you been to Calvary?
Evening Study Guide
Defining: “Calvary”: A small hill west of Jerusalem, known as “Golgotha,” (the place of the skull). The place where Christ was crucified.
Referencing: “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’” Luke 23:33-34
Applying: Have you been to the turning point of history? Why not stand with the apostle Paul, “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” 1 Corinthians 2:2.