Luke 9:23 “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Write this verse down on a 3×5 card and carry it with you. Throughout the day, pull the card out and try to memorize it. Think about these questions as you meditate on the verse. What does this verse teach me? How does this verse apply to my Life?
“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.” — Psalms 22:7
Mockery was a great ingredient in our Lord’s woe. Judas mocked him in the garden; the chief priests and scribes laughed him to scorn; Herod set him at nought; the servants and the soldiers jeered at him, and brutally insulted him; Pilate and his guards ridiculed his royalty; and on the tree all sorts of horrid jests and hideous taunts were hurled at him. Ridicule is always hard to bear, but when we are in intense pain it is so heartless, so cruel, that it cuts us to the quick. Imagine the Saviour crucified, racked with anguish far beyond all mortal guess, and then picture that motley multitude, all wagging their heads or thrusting out the lip in bitterest contempt of one poor suffering victim! Surely there must have been something more in the crucified One than they could see, or else such a great and mingled crowd would not unanimously have honoured him with such contempt. Was it not evil confessing, in the very moment of its greatest apparent triumph, that after all it could do no more than mock at that victorious goodness which was then reigning on the cross? O Jesus, “despised and rejected of men,” how couldst thou die for men who treated thee so ill? Herein is love amazing, love divine, yea, love beyond degree. We, too, have despised thee in the days of our unregeneracy, and even since our new birth we have set the world on high in our hearts, and yet thou bleedest to heal our wounds, and diest to give us life. O that we could set thee on a glorious high throne in all men’s hearts! We would ring out thy praises over land and sea till men should as universally adore as once they did unanimously reject.
"Thy creatures wrong thee, O thou sovereign Good! Thou art not loved, because not understood: This grieves me most, that vain pursuits beguile Ungrateful men, regardless of thy smile."
1Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
Write this verse down on a 3×5 card and carry it with you. Throughout the day, pull the card out and try to memorize it. Think about these questions as you meditate on the verse. What does this verse teach me? How does this verse apply to my Life?
“A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.” Song of Solomon 1:13
Myrrh may well be chosen as the type of Jesus on account of its preciousness, it’s perfume, it’s pleasantness, it’s healing, preserving, disinfecting qualities, and its connection with sacrifice. But why is He compared to “a bundle of myrrh”? First, for plenty. He is not a drop of it; He is a casket. He is not a sprig or flower of it, but a whole bundle. There is enough in Christ for all my necessities; let me not be slow to avail myself of Him. Our well-beloved is compared to a” bundle” again, for variety: for there is in Christ not only the one thing needful but in “him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” everything needful is in Him. Take Jesus in his different characters, and you will see a marvelous variety prophet, priest, king, husband, friend, Shepherd. Consider Him in His life, death, resurrection, ascension, second advent; view Him in his virtue, gentleness, courage, self-denial, love, faithfulness, truth, righteousness everywhere He is a bundle of preciousness. He is a “bundle of myrrh” for preservation not loose myrrh to be dropped on the floor or trodden on, but myrrh tied up, myrrh to be stored in a casket. We must value him as our best treasure; We must praise His words and His ordinances; and we must keep our thoughts of Him and knowledge of Him as under lock and key, lest the devil should steal anything from us. Moreover, Jesus is a “bundle of myrrh” for specialty. The emblem of suggests the idea of distinguishing, discriminating grace. From before the foundation of the world, He was set apart for his people; and He gives forth His perfume only to those who understand how to enter into communion with Him, to have close dealings with Him. Oh! blessed people whom the Lord has admitted into his secrets, and for whom he set Himself apart. Oh! choice and happy who are thus made to say, “a bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me.”
Romans 5:6-8 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Write this verse down on a 3×5 card and carry it with you. Throughout the day, pull the card out and try to memorize it. Think about these questions as you meditate on the verse. What does this verse teach me? How does this verse apply to my Life?
“The place which is called Calvary.” Luke 23:33
The hill of comfort is the hill of Calvary; the house of consolation is built with the wood of the cross; the temple of heavenly blessing is founded upon the riven rock- riven by the spear which pierced his side. No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like Calvary’s tragedy.
“Is it not strange, the darkest hour
that ever dawned on sinful earth,
should touch the heart with softer power, for comfort, then an angel’s Mirth? That to the Cross the mourner’s eye should turn, sooner than where the stars of Bethlehem burn?”
Light springs from the midday- midnight of Golgotha and every herb of the field blooms sweetly beneath the shadow of the once accursed tree. In that place of thirst, grace hath dug a fountain which ever gushes with waters pure as crystal, each drop capable of alleviating the woes of humankind. You who have had your seasons of conflict will confess that it was not at Olivet that you ever found comfort, not on the hill of Sinai, nor on Tabor, but Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha Have been a means of comfort to you. The bitter herbs of Gethsemane have often taken away the bitters of your life; the scourged of Gabbatha has often scourged away your cares, and the groans of Calvary yields us comfort rare and rich. We should never have known Christ’s love in all its heights and depths if he had not died, nor could we guess the Father’s deep affection if he had not given His Son to die. The common mercies we enjoy all sing of love, just as the sea-shell when we put it to our ears, whispers of the deep sea whence it came; but if we desire to hear the ocean itself, we must not look at everyday blessings, but at the transactions of the crucifixion. He Who would know love, let him retire to Calvary, and see the Man of sorrows die.
Hebrews 1:3 “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
Write this verse down on a 3×5 card and carry it with you. Throughout the day, pull the card out and try to memorize it. Think about these questions as you meditate on the verse. What does this verse teach me? How does this verse apply to my Life?
“Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” (John 13:6-7)
Peter finds this very uncomfortable. He does not want his teacher to wash his feet. Perhaps he realized that one of them should have taken to the task first. Now, the master had grown frustrated with them and done it himself. Peter, knowing his place was too proud to let Jesus serve him in this manner. There is a part of humility that requires one to receive a humble service. One who always serves others but refuses to be served can have a pride issue as much as the person that will not serve others. It is two sides to the same coin.
“Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.” (John 13:8-11)
Peter was stubborn, determined to get his way. In verse seven, Jesus kindly tells him just let me do this, and you will understand why in a few minutes, you do not want to miss out on this, you’re going to regret it. Imagen how Peter would have felt the rest of his life if he had gotten his way.
We tend to look at Peter and say, look how foolish he is. I would never do that. But how often do we do the very same thing? Jesus is asking us to submit to his will, and we stand and say no. He says to us, Go there, speak now, help them, but we say not me, Lord. The first submission we must learn in our Christian walk is yielding to the will of God.
It is interesting to see how Jesus flips the conversation from the present into a spiritual discussion about salvation. They are no longer talking about the washing of feet. This event is being used to picture what Jesus does for us in cleansing us from all unrighteousness. We must understand that we are unclean and in need of spiritual cleansing, a cleansing that can only be done by Christ.
Peter says, then clean me all over, but this was a picture of spiritual cleansing. The physical washing would do nothing for him. He had already taken two baths in preparation for this evening. The foot-washing was necessary because of the walk to the house. It is symbolizing the fact that each one of them had already believed that Jesus was the Messiah, except one. The washing of feet does nothing for the salvation of the soul; the foot-washing could not change the heart of Judas. The same is true of church membership, communion, baptism, or walking down an aisle. Salvation only comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:10 “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
Write this verse down on a 3×5 card and carry it with you. Throughout the day, pull the card out and try to memorize it. Think about these questions as you meditate on the verse. What does this verse teach me? How does this verse apply to my Life?
