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Week 3
Read John 19:19-22.
There are many times during our lives when we give gifts to show how much we care for
special people on their birthdays, at Christmas, for graduations, weddings, and celebrations of honors and awards. We “care enough to send the very best” as the Hallmark ad reminds us. God loved us enough to do that very thing—not just once or twice, but over and over again. Jesus was born to bring us into an understanding that God wants us to be God’s children, living lives of love and mercy, faith and purity. Jesus is a Gift only God could bestow.
But then, God wanted to do more for us. So God gave us more gifts—the gifts of the cross. These gifts were not tied with ribbons but rather were sprinkled with the blood of God's Son: a crown of thorns, a sign that said “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” signifying God’s desire to reach the world with the truth. And finally, the ultimate gift was the resurrection—proof that God’s gifts were real.
As I read the book, He Chose the Nails, author Max Lucado gave me new insight into the nails, the spit, the thorns, the garment, even the sign above Jesus head. “Gifts of grace” Lucado calls them. Gifts? Gifts are wonderful, beautiful things we desire. Gifts show love. They are not items that hurt body and spirit! We know that Jesus’ death was a gift however hard it is for us to comprehend. But all those things that were a part of it, were they “gifts of grace?” How could it be?
Because it is impossible for us to live sinless lives for even 24 hours, Jesus carried the spit of the soldiers, symbolizing the filth in our hearts, to the cross. The thorns woven to crown the Savior are the consequences of our sin and are sharp reminders of the pain we often inflict on ourselves and others. The garment, Christ’s seamless robe, was removed, and he assumed the indignity of nakedness, symbolizing sin, both yours and mine.
What is the significance of the sign, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”? Because Pilate would not heed the priests’ suggestion to change the words, God used Pilate, that unlikely soul, to spread the message of the cross. This is one of the positive features in that dark picture of death. Even the thief hanging at His side realized and believed the significance of those words as he asked Jesus to remember him. The sign is a message to us to fulfill our role as Christ’s ambassadors.
While I was gathering thoughts for this devotional, our pastor told a story in his sermon about grandparents who wrote the letters “S-H-M-I-L-Y” in all kinds of places in the house: on the bathroom mirror, on the napkin beside the dinner plate, in the sock drawer, wherever the spouse might see them. It was a game that nourished their marriage and even sustained them in death: “S-H-M-I-L-Y.” The letters stood for “See How Much I Love You.” Pastor Jerry stated, “Wouldn’t it have been appropriate if those letters had been written on the sign above the cross?”
Prayer: Gracious God, our “thank-you note” of gratefulness for your acts of love and mercy and your gift of eternal life has to be scripted in the way in which we lead our lives. May reminders of the gifts of the cross keep us walking the paths that you have laid out for us. Amen.
Betty Shoaf
Laywoman
First Baptist Church
Grand Junction, CO
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