October 24 - Not Alone

John 19:25-27

but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. (John 19:25 ESV)

Recently a string of rather unexpected deaths have rocked several of my friends. Death is a difficult thing to deal with. Even when you have the assurance that a person was a believer it is still tough to have them suddenly out of your life. Even though it is a temporary removal.

Jesus' mother had to have been emotionally devastated by the events of Jesus' execution. She had known from before his birth that he would face the inevitable brutality, but that wouldn't have made it any easier. Thankfully there were friends around her to help her through it.

Jesus, from his cross, even appointed his youngest apostle, John, to watch over Mary. He took care of his mom. He didn't want her to face life alone. It begs a curious question that I don't really know the answer to. Where was Jesus' adopted father Joseph?

The bible doesn't really answer that question, but the point is that Jesus wanted Mary to be taken care of. Even in his final moments he was concerned for others. He didn't love his life alone, he didn't die alone, and he doesn't wish that his people would go it alone either.

October 23 - His Garments

John 19:23-24

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, (John 19:23 ESV)

As Jesus was hanging on the cross the Roman soldiers in charge of his death were dividing his clothes amongst themselves. They saved his tunic, probably the only valuable possession he had, for last. It was special, made from only one piece of material rather than a stitched together patchwork garment.

The symbolic nature of the pagan Romans acquiring Christ's clothing is very interesting. Jesus is regularly referred to as the second Adam. God took the hides of animals and used them to clothe Adam and Eve after their initial sin.

Christ's death and resurrection created a renewed opportunity for relationship with God. The New Testament writings at one point even mention that we wear the righteousness of Christ. Our sin is our own, but our righteousness is his. We have none. We, like the Romans who divided his clothes, are wrapped in his garments.

October 22 - Remember Me

Luke 23: 39-43

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42 ESV)

Jesus endured ridicule from the mob, from the soldiers, and even from the criminal hanging near by. But one of them was afraid. One of them recognized his own sinfulness, and the justice being delivered by his punishment. That man cried out to Jesus. Maybe it was desperation, I am not the judge of that, regardless of the motive—he appealed to the mercy of Christ—asking to be remembered. Christ promised that that very day they would be together in Paradise.

Maybe you can remember a similar moment, a time when you cried out for the mercy of Christ, asking him to remember you. I remember multiple moments in my life when I cried out to him. I have come to believe this; Jesus remembers me.

Truthfully, I don't always make it through every day feeling like a strong believer. I make mistakes. Often. Jesus remembers me. He remembers the me that cried out for him in earnest. And he helps me find my way back to that place. What does Jesus remember about you?

October 21 - He Trusts God

Matthew 27:39-44

"He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (Matthew 27:43 ESV)

Jesus was being ridiculed and mocked as he hung upon the cross. Many gathered nearby to hurl insults aimed at Jesus' assertion that he was the Son of God. The unbelievers present saw opportunity to manipulate the situation for their pleasure. They sarcastically threw Jesus' identity, mission, and role in his face. Jesus never wavered in his trust for God.

When you know who you are in God you can trust Him. And the first part of that is simply knowing God Himself. With a cognitive knowledge and recognition of God and who He is to you comes the opportunity to develop an understanding for the implications that reality has on your own life. Implications that can be so profoundly impactful that they anchor your trust to God. That's the way it was for Jesus.

Once you have came to terms with the identity that flows from God to you—mission is only a heartbeat away. Just as God pours identity into you, He also puts mission before you. Mission is the great purpose for your life. It is you cause. It is God-mandated, divinely appointed. A man on mission will find a level of satisfaction and fulfillment so deeply entrenched in the peace of God that his trust for God will be unshakable.

Identity and mission work together to push you to your role. Identity answers who and whose you are. Mission answers what you should do. Role is the practical application of both—it is about being who you are and doing what you should do.

The mob didn't understand that about Jesus. His trust lay in a place beyond their mental or spiritual capacity to fathom. Yours can too.

October 20 - Choosing to Believe

Mark 15:21-32

"Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. (Mark 15:32 ESV)

As Jesus hung upon the cross there were many people gathered to watch the horrible event unfold. Many of the onlookers were hostile, but not all of them. Some that had gathered were believers, and still others were not. Those that had yet to believe were frightening the cruelty of the crucifixion by heaping prideful mockery upon Christ.

We don't know the numbers but many people who followed Jesus to Golgotha where he was crucified were there to lament and mourn for him. There also were those present who did not believe. But the one defining difference in the two groups was their ideas about who Jesus was. It was a difference of belief.

My position is that belief is a choice. You choose what you do or do not believe. The scribes and religious people regularly asked Jesus to perform signs, but when he did they didn't meet their super religious criteria, or they somehow cut out their scandalous religious pyramid scheme. So those guys chose not to believe in Jesus despite all the miracles he had performed in front of their eyes.

They taunted him. Casting their doubts in the form of dangling skepticism and might-have-been-belief, but the simple truth is that they had chosen not to believe Jesus was the messiah. What do you believe?

October 19 - Prophecy: With Transgressors

Promise: Isaiah 53:12Fulfillment: Matthew 27:38

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12 ESV)

Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. (Matthew 27:38 ESV)

Around 700 B.C. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be killed with sinners. Indeed he was crucified between two criminals, one of which came to the faith while hanging on the cross nearby The Lord.

Jesus' mission was to find and save lost people. He came after the transgressors. All of us fall into that category. It is only because of his redemptive work that we find ourselves looking back on that term in the past tense of the word.

Jesus was consistently seen with transgressors, sinners. He kept company with them regularly. He dined with them. Talked with them. And died with them. He knew his mission. And he accomplished it.

October 18 - Prophecy: Crucifixion

Promise: Psalm 22:16Fulfillment: Luke 23:33

For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— (Psalm 22:16 ESV)

And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. (Luke 23:33 ESV)

The Old Testament king David prophesied about a thousand years before Christ's birth that Jesus would be crucified. A prophecy that was written hundreds of years before the invention of crucifixion—clearly alluding to the horrible way in which Jesus would be nailed to the cross.

The mere thought of having nine inch metal spikes driven through my hands and feet is horrendous. Yet Jesus knew all along that it was to be his fate. As a kid he must have seen other men crucified. I wonder what passed through his mind.

Jesus did not shy away from that which he had set out to do. He followed through, even as he was pierced through. He knew the promise of Old Testament prophecy, and he embraced the markings of his messianic destiny, even as he secured the promise for our eternal salvation.

October 17 - Compelled

Matthew 27: 32-34 & Luke 23:26

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. (Matthew 27:32 ESV)

And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26 ESV)

When Simon of Cyrene left home with his family I doubt he imagined that he would play a key role in an event that would forever change the destiny of mankind. He was compelled, the text says, to carry the cross. He was forced by armed men already on their way toward savage murder. He had no choice. It was not voluntary compulsion.

I wonder if Simon knew what was happening. I wonder if he had heard of Jesus, or would come to an understanding later. I wonder if Simon and Jesus sit and talk about that day every once in a while.

Sometimes we are compelled. Voluntary or not, take heed of that which you find yourself compelled to do. It could be that you too are caught up in a story bigger than any you ever imagined.

May 11 - Own Your Cross

Read: Luke 14:25-27

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:27 ESV)

Today crosses are fashion statements. People were them casually with little regard for their semblance or significance. In Jesus' era the cross was a multifaceted symbol of shame, disgust, torture, cruelty, and wickedness. That's the kind of cross Jesus was taking about carrying.

In the years since Jesus said those words many many people have given their lives for their faith in Jesus. In the years to come more are certain to experience a similar fate. This isn't what Jesus wants for his people. I can't imagine that he enjoys seeing his followers suffer today any more than he did then. But it is possibility.

Even though fatal martyrdom is a pretty far removed threat from our comfortable American existence that doesn't mean we don't have our cross to carry. Your faith in Jesus will mark you. It will set you apart. Often if may label you the outcast. Some will think you a fool. You have to be ok with that. You may get passed up for a promotion because of your faith. You may get demoted because of your faith. You have to be ok with that.

Taking up cross doesn't mean that we go looking for ways to voluntarily end our lives for the gospel. It also doesn't mean that we neglect our obligations and responsibilities. Taking up your cross means that you are willing to willfully follow Jesus into whatever situation he leads you into regardless of the possible or probable outcome.