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Read: Mark 15:27-32
Listen: Mark 15

Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” Mark 15:29-30

God has the power to take unspeakable pain and creatively bring unimaginable good. Joseph’s story of pain, betrayal and false accusations foreshadow what Jesus will suffer on the cross for sins. Jesus endures betrayal and desertion by his close friends. He’s spit upon, brutally beaten, harassed and hurled insults at. He suffers public humiliation and a dehumanizing death on a Roman cross. Through this vast wickedness, God brings about spiritual rescue and wholeness for his people.

Jesus endured unimaginable pain to bring our forgiveness, healing and restoration. Only God could take such pain and create something beautiful. When we respond with belief in Jesus’s death and resurrection and recognize our desperate need for him, he brings our salvation. We could never rescue ourselves. We cannot bring about good from our sins. But God can and does through our faith in Jesus.

TODAY: Join the Ada Bible Worship Team as they sing “In Christ Alone.” Praise God for the work of Jesus on the cross for enduring scorn and that “The wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on Him was laid.” Thank him that you can have life because of Jesus’s death.

JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:

Read Isaiah 61-63. Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Note how Jesus quoted parts of Isaiah 61 as referring to himself (see Luke 4:16-21).