WHAT DOES IT TAKE?

WATCH: Luke 23:26-49 [Video Above]

ANSWER THIS: What is something you find hard to believe?

THE BREAKDOWN

After Jesus has been unfairly tried and sentenced to death, he’s forced to carry the cross on which he’ll be hung, to a hill called The Skull. A man named Simon, from the African city of Cyrene, is grabbed from the crowd and told to carry the cross for Jesus, presumably because Jesus no longer has the strength to carry it himself.

As Jesus staggers toward his death, women along the road are weeping for him. In distress, he deflects their grief, telling them to weep for their own children and what they will face in the future.

Upon arriving at the hilltop, he’s nailed to his cross and hung between two criminals. Even after he asks God to forgive the people responsible for this injustice, many in the crowd remain hard-hearted, gambling for his clothes, mocking him, and spitefully placing a sign above his bloodied head that reads “King of the Jews.”

Even one of the criminals hanging beside him insults him. The other, though, in a final act of remorse, admits his crime and asks Jesus to remember him. Remarkably, Jesus, despite his suffering, assures the man he’ll be joining him in paradise.

At noon, the sun goes dark and remains that way for three hours. Suddenly, the curtain in the Jewish temple, separating worshipers from the area where only high priests were allowed due to God’s holy presence, is torn in two. At that moment, Jesus shouts, “Father, I entrust my spirit into Your hands!” and dies.

The events of the day are so extraordinary, a Roman officer declares that Jesus must have been the Son of God (see also Matthew 27:54, and Mark 15:39).

The crowd goes home in mourning, with the exception of Jesus’ stunned friends, and the women who followed him. They simply stand at a distance, watching in despair and disbelief.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

What was it that caused the Roman officer to see Jesus not just as an innocent man, but as the Son of God?

Was it the way Jesus showed compassion for others, even those responsible for his unjust execution? Was it the mysterious way the sun went dark for three hours? Was it how intimately Jesus referred to God as “Father,” even as he breathed his last? Could the officer possibly have heard that the temple curtain, which once separated people from God, had now been torn down the middle, making God accessible to everyone?

Or, was just being in Jesus’ presence, even as he was dying, enough?

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR ME?

What will it take for you to recognize Jesus is who he claimed to be—the Son of God? Are the historical accounts of his life enough for you? The things he said and did? Or, do you need more proof? He’s given us plenty. But, none more convincing than what you’ll read about next.

PRAYER

“Jesus, I want to believe. But, I’ve grown so skeptical, and don’t know what to believe anymore. Give me faith and confidence in who you really are when I'm faced with doubt.”