The Most Unjust Act in History

As each Easter week comes and goes year in, year out, it's so easy to grow numb to the cross of Christ, bloody and brutal though it was. We know the story. Jesus died. He rose again. But have you ever really stopped to feel the injustice of it all? The innocent man, Jesus, was condemned. The guilty man, Barabbas, went free. This is what the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, said to the angry mob about Jesus: John 18:38 I find no basis for a charge against him. (NRSV) In fact, Pilate declared Jesus innocent three times. Yet still, they cried, "Crucify him!"  In a shockingly ironic twist, they chose Barabbas — a criminal — over Jesus. The One who'd done no wrong was beaten, mocked, and nailed to a cross. The murderer was set free. What should shake us to the core is this? Jesus didn't resist. 1 Peter 2:23-24 When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (NRSV) Jesus absorbed the cruelty, entrusted Himself to the Father, and bore your sin and mine in His body. He didn't just suffer an incredible injustice at the hands of that crowd; He suffered your judgment, your consequences, and He did it willingly. That's the scandal of the cross. Nothing else in history compares - there's no injustice more outrageous, no love more undeserved. Let that sink in: The worst injustice in history was also the greatest act of grace. He took your place — not because you deserved it, but because He couldn't bear eternity without you. That's love! And that's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.