Read John 19:1-27
Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”
Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
John 19:17-22
Dear God,
You gave us the ultimate sacrifice, Your precious child, Your only son to save the rest of us. I cannot even imagine following through with that plan. Would I let one of my children die in order to take the judgement for the rest of the world? It would hurt too much. Selfishly, it would make me feel like all the other souls weren’t worth the life of my beloved child. I couldn’t do it. The world is so lucky that I am not You! You made a way for us through pain and suffering by suffering pain. You endured the darkness of unbelief. You experienced humiliation, beatings and the most excruciating, torturous death on a cross. This was the one last act to fulfill scripture and redeem every soul. You overcame hell, sin, death, sickness, addiction and every darkness in any corner of the world for me. Thank You, Jesus, for loving me and every other sinful soul in this whole world so much that You chose sacrifice, pain and death. My life is Yours. I will forever be on my knees praising Your name and trying to live a life worthy of this most sacred sacrifice.
I love You, Papa.
Suggested song: “Long Live The King (Acoustic)” by Influence Music and Matt Gilman