After they had nailed him to the cross, the
soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. Then they sat
around and kept guard as he hung there. A sign
was fastened above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It read:
“This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Two
revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. The
people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You
said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well
then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!” The
leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked
Jesus. “He
saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of
Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe
in him! MATTHEW 27:35-42 NLT
As tree huggers we cling to the cross
because…
It quenches God’s anger
Soon
the people began to complain about their hardship, and the LORD heard
everything they said. Then the LORD’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a
fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts
of the camp. Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to
the LORD, the fire stopped. After that, the area was known as Taberah (which
means “the place of burning”), because fire from the LORD had burned among them
there. NUMBERS 11:1-3 NLT
It
is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. HEBREWS 10:31
NLT
It demonstrates God’s love
‘The LORD is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving
every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. NUMBERS 14:18 NLT
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we
might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a
sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 JOHN
4:9 NLT
And
I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about
tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in
the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate
us from the love of God that is
revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. ROMANS
8:38-39 NLT
It’s the only hope
When
we were utterly helpless, Christ came
at just the right time and died for
us sinners. ROMANS 5:6 NLT
The
message of the cross is foolish
to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is
the very power of God. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18
NLT