Morning Devotions: Day 1

Ok, lets start with an easy question (maybe)...Why did Jesus die?





Now, lets make this a bit tougher. Why was Jesus killed?




Do you see the difference in the questions. The first has to do with the reasons Jesus died, what those things mean to us. The second has to do with Jesus trial and the people who accused Jesus and sentenced him to die.

Read Luke 22:66-23:17

After reading that passage, look at your answer for the second question. Do they match? Probably not right? So why is this?

We often think of Jesus dieing for our sins. We think of His crucifixion as simply a means to get us in to heaven. Both of these things are true, but they only tell half of the story. Pilate and the crowds were not crying out, “This man needs to die for our sins, Crucify Him, CRUCIFY Him!” They were claiming Jesus committed an actual crime. A real crime that deserved the death penalty.

What was the crime? They said Jesus was making Himself out to be a King and opposing taxes. They claimed He was a revolutionary.

We have often thought of the charges brought against Jesus as fake, but these aren’t. Jesus did claim to be the Messiah. What does the Word Messiah make you think of?




When Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, people knew He was claiming to be a real king who was about to set up a real kingdom. He was starting a revolution unlike anything the world had ever seen. If Jesus did set up a real kingdom on this earth what would that mean for us?