Christian Reflection and Prayer

Read Psalm 139. 

TEXT: Yet You are He who took me from the womb; You
made me trust You at my mother's breasts. On You was
I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb You
have been my God (Psalm 22:9-10).

Jesus has shared His pain and sufferings a second time.
Now it's time to listen to God's answer to that prayer,
and gain firm confidence in His Father's faithfulness and
love.

Earlier in the Psalm Jesus took comfort by recalling His
Fathers' faithful deliverance when the Israelites cried out
in sore distress. "In You our fathers trusted; they trusted,
and You delivered them. To You they cried and were
rescued; in You they trusted and were not put to shame"
(Psalm 22:4-5). Now Jesus looks back on His own life,
and recalls the tender care His Father provided from the
beginning.

"You are He who took me from the womb." Miraculously
conceived by the Holy Spirit, the Father granted Jesus a
safe birth that first Christmas, provided a warm, dry manger,
fed Him and met all His needs. When King Herod sought to
destroy Him, the Father sent an angel to warn Joseph in a
dream to take the Christ Child and Mary and flee to Egypt
(see Matthew 2:13). From His earliest human days Jesus'
Father had proven reliable and trustworthy. Surely, in this
time God the Father will remember and deliver Him as well.

Like Jesus we can look back on God's faithful care
throughout our lives, and be confident He will always
provide our needs and protect us, especially since Jesus
has paid the full price for our sins in His suffering and death
on the cross.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for remembering Your Father's
faithful protection and care. Remind me to look back at His
faithfulness in my life that I may always live in faith,
confidence and peace. Amen.

(Lenten Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Read Psalm 37. 

TEXT: He trusts in the Lord; let Him deliver him; let Him
rescue him, for He delights in him! (Psalm 22:8).

We saw the childish mockery of the Jewish crowds
yesterday. But surely we can expect a more dignified
response from the Jewish leaders. As it turns out, their
mockery may be more sophisticated, but it is no less
childish. They urge Jesus to throw His concerns on His
Father, to plead with Him to deliver Him from His suffering,
"Let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him."

They laugh to each other, knowing God had said, "If a man
has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put
to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not
remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the
same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God" (see
Deuteronomy 21:22-23). To their minds God would never
permit an innocent man to be crucified, so Jesus could
hardly be God's Son. God could not possibly delight in a
man He has cursed and forsaken!

Now step back and compare their words with those written
by the prophet David: "He trusts in the Lord; let Him deliver
him; let Him rescue him, for He delights in him!"

"He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now, if He desires
Him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God'" (Matthew 27:43).

It is striking that the very words they say match this
prophecy of the Messiah so closely. Their own thoughtless
mockery testifies that Jesus is indeed the Messiah they
have rejected-just as He was predicted through David. Yet
He has become a curse by being crucified to free them from
God's curse.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for becoming a curse for me
that I may live under Your eternal blessings. Amen.

(Lenten Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries)

PLAYGROUND STUNTS

Read Psalm 89:38-52. 

TEXT: All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me;
they wag their head (Psalm 22:7).

Yesterday we saw how the enemies gathered before Jesus'
cross acted like children around an injured worm. Today we
see them doing another thing children do: they mock, make
mouths at Him, and wag their heads. Note how closely this
prophecy matches Matthew's description: "And those who
passed by derided Him, wagging their heads and saying,
'You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three
days, save Yourself!'" (See Matthew 27:39-40).

None of us went through childhood without encountering
mockery. You can hear that insulting, imitative voice as one
child takes another's words and turns it back against him.
Most of us manage to outgrow it though. Maybe that's why
it's so shocking to see the Jewish crowds turning Jesus' own
words against Him in mockery: "You who would destroy the
temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are
the Son of God, come down from the cross."

These Jews are making their way into Jerusalem to
celebrate the Jewish Feast of Passover. But far from pitying
Jesus or feeling any compassion for Him they make faces
at the Lord, as they pass Him on their way to town. Like
cruel children they mockingly imitate the uncontrollable
grimaces covering His face as His body is racked with pain.
They shoot out their lips in contempt, then open their mouths
wide, staring at Him in shock and disgust. They wag their
heads from side to side, doubting He is in His right mind
when He claims to be God's Son, the King of the Jews.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus Christ, You endured such childish mockery
and cruelty to save us from our sin. Thank You for winning
our full and free forgiveness. Amen.

(Lenten Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries)