Week of March 29th, 2026
Encouragement from God's Word
During this special week, as we think about Jesus' suffering and death, we will listen to words from Psalm 22 that pointed ahead to Jesus' crucifixion. The clear connections between Psalm 22 and the account of Jesus' death make it clear to us that God had planned out our salvation to the last detail.
Psalm 22:16
Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
This verse takes us directly to Jesus’ crucifixion. The imagery of this prophecy is easy to see fulfilled at the cross – Jesus was surrounded by evil men who wanted him dead; his hands and feet were pierced with nails.
There was a viciousness to Jesus’ crucifixion. In this verse his enemies are pictured as snarling dogs who have him surrounded and trapped. Earlier in this Psalm, his enemies are called bulls (v. 12) who were powerful and lions (v. 13) who were tearing their prey apart. Oh, the hatred that sin stirs up in the hearts of unbelievers! They were delighted to witness and participate in wickedness and the cruel death of someone that threatened their mindset.
Let us be on guard against the sin that lives in our own hearts. Our ability to offer a rational excuse for a sin does not mean that it stops being a sin (this applies from everything from abortion to lying to selfishness!). The sinful nature delights in and quickly excuses sin.
Jesus endured this anger and unspeakable cruelty because sin needed to be punished – all sin needed to be punished. On the cross, Jesus accepted every bit of punishment that our sins deserved. He did not ask for it to stop or even be eased. He let torment rain down on him.
He did that so that we would be free from punishment! He took it all. There is no anger left. His death paid for every last sin.
Look again at the viciousness of the cross. In the seeming power and victory of Jesus’ enemies is the defeat of sin and Satan. The “power” they used against Jesus has unleashed the limitless power of God’s grace and forgiveness into the world and into our lives. At the cross, you see God’s love.
Tomorrow we begin our special Holy Week services. Make time for these worship opportunities so that, by faith, you see again the glory of God’s love for you.
