Reading: Mark 15-16, Psalm 37:40

“And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.”

Today we conclude our journey through Psalm 37 and the Gospels of Luke and Mark. This final promise of Psalm 37 is that God will help us, deliver us, and save us from our enemy because we place our trust in Him. The Lord is our helper.

All through the scripture we see example after example of the Lord delivering His people in their time of trouble. The help of the Lord was revealed when He split the Red Sea so the children of Israel could escape their enemies. It showed up for Paul and Silas as they sang praises in prison and the Lord shook the earth and broke their bonds. He helped Daniel face the lion’s den and endure political pressure and persecution.

But in no place was God’s help more evident than in Mark 14-16, where Jesus received strength to face His death on the cross. Jesus knew that He was about to be crucified - the most hideous and painful form of death in the arsenal of the Roman Empire. But Jesus faced His hour of suffering by pressing into the face of God.

As He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was alone (the disciples had fallen asleep) and in agony. Yet He surrendered His will to the will of God. Through tears and terrible darkness He put His trust in His Father who strengthened Him to face Cross.

Within the hour He was arrested. He was abandoned by His disciples, falsely accused, verbally assaulted, physically abused, tortured, scourged, and nailed to a cross - naked and left to die.

As grueling as these things were, the greatest agony Jesus faced came next; as God the Father laid upon Him the iniquity of the whole world. We can only imagine what that moment was like. Hanging between heaven and earth, the only Son of the Most High God bore the crushing weight of the totality of human guilt, shame, and pain.

I am sometimes asked how one person could die for the collective guilt of the entire human race. But think of it this way. You and I are finite as human persons, but the combined weight of our sins are infinite. Jesus was infinite as a Divine Person, so His suffering was finite. The entire weight of human sin was LESS than the eternal weight and value of the Son of God. His moment of suffering on the Cross was sufficient to pay the price for every sin you or I will ever commit. What a price that was paid! What a gift that was given!

When Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day, the way was made for all of us to receive the help we need to be saved from our sins, delivered from our enemies, and filled with the Holy Spirit - the Helper Jesus promised!

We have much to be thankful for on this very Good Friday. As we close out our Lenten season with a final day of fasting, take time today to reflect on the goodness of the Lord. Consider the terrible price that Jesus paid so you and I could be made Children of God.
Write in your journal a final entry thanking God for the things He has shown you over these past 40 days.
Make every effort to attend services tonight to receive Holy Communion.
Bring someone to church with you this coming Resurrection Sunday. There is someone you know who needs to know Jesus. They are waiting for you to invite them.
Finally, remember as you go throughout the rest of this year, come what may, you and I are resting our hearts in the wonderful promises of Psalm 37. Hope is here.