It’s Good Friday, so it seems strange to be reading in John 3, rather than in the Passion narrative. To remedy that, I thought it would be worthwhile to pause this John study in favor of a reflection on the death of Jesus. And if that’s worth doing, why not do it twice?
That’s right. Today I’m going to post two devotional readings—one right now and one this afternoon. Both come from my time at She Reads Truth and He Reads Truth but deal with different aspects of Jesus’ death on our behalf.
This first devotional is from Mark 15:1–47 and considers the reason for the mystery of the cross, God’s secret plan to redeem humanity. I hope it’s a blessing to you.
It’s one of those verses I must have read a thousand times without a second thought. Tucked into the second chapter of 1 Corinthians, it’s easy to skim right past it. In discussing the wisdom of God, Paul writes, “None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1Corinthians 2:8). Knowing that Jesus “was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge” (Acts 2:23), it seems that God used the devious schemes of the enemy to bring about the world’s greatest blessing.
Pages of Joy 