Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross."
Matthew 27:39-40
Lord Jesus, we will never fully understand or appreciate what you endured for our sakes. Your servant John reminds us that you came to that which was your own – humanity, your beloved creation – and we did not receive you. (John 1:11) It wasn't enough that we tortured you, spat on you, and nailed you to a cross. We mocked you as you hung there, throwing your own words in your face. Words we didn't understand, words predicting your resurrection from the dead (John 2:19-22), which would open the way to eternal life for us. We taunted you, calling out to you to come down from the cross and save yourself, if you were the Son of God. Never realizing that you were choosing to hang there and die for us, submitting to the Father's will on our behalf (Matt. 26:42), even as we despised and rejected you (Isa.53:3). It is a wonder that you could love humanity at all, let alone love us enough to give your life for us, but that is what you did. We can never love you enough in return.
Leslie Clark
