Daily Devotional: Wednesday, April 1, 2020
SCRIPTURE READING
Isaiah 53:8 (KJV)
He was taken from prison and from judgment:
Part of the suffering Jesus endured was not at the hands of the people, but at the hands of the governing authorities.
Was Jesus a criminal? Did He go around breaking the law?
No, Jesus was no criminal. He obeyed the law. He paid His taxes. He even paid Peter’s taxes for him. You remember Jesus told Peter to go catch a fish and take their tax money out of the mouth of the fish (Matthew 17:24-27)?
So why was Jesus put in prison and why did the government leaders judge and execute Him?
Jesus was put in prison and judged and executed by the governing authorities because He was perfect. Doesn’t that sound weird?
We all would love a man who was perfect, right? Isn’t that what every Mom and Dad wants their children to be—perfect?
Actually, no. We don’t like perfect people. They make us feel bad because of how imperfect we are. Jesus was perfect and the Jews didn’t like Jesus at all. They hated Jesus so much that they paid Judas money to betray Jesus with a kiss. Then they took Jesus to prison and brought Him into their courts to be judged. Then they brought in witnesses to lie about Jesus. And after His trial, they screamed bloody murder against Jesus.
If we had been there, we would have done the same. This is what the Bible tells us. Speaking of Jesus as “the light,” John writes:
“[T]he Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (John 3:19-20).
Jesus was no criminal. Yet they put Him in prison, lied about Him, then executed him on a cross. Jesus was light and they hated His light.
QUESTIONS
- Does it make you happy when your older sister does the right thing after you have done the wrong thing?
- Do you remember how the government leader Pilate washed his hands at the end of Jesus’ trial (Matthew 27:23-26)? Why did Pilate wash his hands?
- Besides the people, who else hurt Jesus?
SONG OF THE WEEK
Ah, Holy Jesus
Ah, holy Jesus, how hast Thou offended,
That man to judge Thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by Thine own rejected,
O most afflicted!
Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon Thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone Thee!
‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied Thee;
I crucified Thee.
Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
The slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered.
For man’s atonement, while he nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.
For me, kind Jesus, was Thine incarnation,
Thy mortal sorrow, and Thy life’s oblation:
Thy death of anguish and Thy bitter passion,
For my salvation.
Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay Thee,
I do adore Thee, and will ever pray Thee,
Think on Thy pity and Thy love unswerving,
Not my deserving.
Listen to Ah, Holy Jesus on Clearnote Songbook
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Heavenly Father, infinite God, fill me with such a true understanding of Your power and greatness that I with all my heart might be able to say with the Psalmist, “Who have I in heaven but You? And beside You, I desire nothing on earth.” Amen.
OTHER PRAYER NEEDS
- That God would allow us to meet again soon as a church
- That we would be patient and content, trusting in God
- That our hearts would be tender to the Lord’s teaching and discipline
SCRIPTURE MEMORY THIS WEEK
Isaiah 53:9-10 (KJV)
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
