Grace? What's That?: Devotions from Time of GraceSample

Who crucified Christ?

The list of people who are responsible for the crucifixion of Christ is a long one. His money-sick disciple Judas betrayed and sold him. The temple guards arrested him, and the Pharisees and priests in the high council falsely convicted him of blasphemy. The Roman governor Pilate weakly ordered his crucifixion, fearing the Jewish mob screaming “Crucify” outside his praetorium. A detachment of Roman soldiers carried out the death sentence by pounding nails in his hands and feet. Your and my sins made his death journey necessary.

Does it surprise you to know that God the Father can be added to this list? “It was the LORD’S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days” (Isaiah 53:10). Though every sinner along the way carries his own responsibility, the Father used their sins to carry out his great plan to offer his own Son as a sin offering for the world.

In that way alone could he have it both ways--he could punish human evil with the severity it deserved, but he could also pardon the guilty because the debt was paid. As you reflect on the horror of the scene on Mt. Calvary, your thoughts will dwell on the suffering of the Savior. Let your heart swell with gratitude also for the Father, who had to endure the ordeal of smiting his holy Son to death. For us.