Worthy: 5 Days to the ResurrectionSample

Day 3 - Save yourself

Throughout the Old Testament, God is described as “long-suffering.” The term means exactly what it says, one who “suffers long.” Someone who is slow to anger. Someone who is patient with those opposing, harming, or offending them. God showed Himself long-suffering when He waited four generations to punish the Amorites because their sins were “not yet full” (Genesis 15:16). He showed Himself long-suffering when He sent Jonah to the Ninevites to call them to repentance. The entire story of His dealings with His people Israel demonstrates His long-suffering.

However, none of those examples compare to the long-suffering displayed in our passages today. Jesus is the eternal second person of the Trinity. He is God incarnate. Every one of His tormentors is a product of His creation. Every one of His mockers is dependent upon Him to sustain their very existence. We can hardly understand the patience and long-suffering of the perfect man Jesus, enduring the beating, spitting, mocking, insulting crowd surrounding Him.

Consider that He is God. He is fully God. And there He sat, willingly allowing these wicked men to harm Him and utterly shame and humiliate Him. One word from His mouth could have wiped them all out, but He remained silent. They were right. He could have saved Himself.

But He didn’t. When it came down to salvation, it was either Him or you. And He chose you.

For reflection:

Sometimes, we think of the death of Jesus as something of a necessary evil. Something that just had to happen for us to have access to salvation and forgiveness. In reality, His life, suffering, death, and resurrection were much more intentional than that. If you are in Christ today, the suffering and shaming He endured were for you. Receiving that love by faith will increase your love for Him. And increasing your love for Him will increase the Christlikeness in your own life.