Reading for today: Matthew 26:36-75, Mark 14:32-72, Luke 22:39-71, John 18:1-27
I spent time in Israel this summer and of the places we visited was the house of Caiaphas. A church has been built on the spot where it once stood but you can still descend to the depths to a storeroom in the bedrock where Jesus most likely spent the night after being condemned. It’s a powerful experience. As you stand at the very lowest point in the home, you can look upwards and see the opening in the roof above where they either lowered or more likely threw Jesus into the depths and darkness. The courtyard where Peter denies Him is just outside. Gethsemane where Judas betrayed Him is just down the hill. As you stand there, the guides encourage you to read aloud the words from Psalm 88. A psalm Jesus must have prayed as He cried out to His Father that night.
“O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you. Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.”
As I read those words in that place, I was deeply moved. I thought about my Lord and the “cup” His Father called Him to drink on my behalf. The cup of God’s wrath. The cup of God’s judgment. The cup I deserved. Jesus drank it to the dregs. He embraced His call to suffer on my behalf. To stand in my place. I abandoned Him just like His disciples. I betrayed Him just like Judas. I denied Him just like Peter. But He never abandoned me. He never betrayed me. He never denied me. He was faithful to His Father’s will and now I am saved. I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of gratitude that flooded my heart in that moment. Read the words of the psalm again and ponder again all Jesus has done for you.
Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 27:1-31, Mark 15:1-20, Luke 23:1-25, John 18:28-40, 19:1-16