Read Matthew 27:1-66

This chapter is heavy. It’s raw. It’s humbling. In these 66 verses, we have a front row seat to read exactly how much we are loved by Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us. Before reading ahead, take the next couple of minutes to pause and read Matthew 27 to yourself.

I rarely make it through this chapter without tears in my eyes. It is sobering to read the final accounts of what everyone thought was the end of Jesus’ life. In just 66 verses, He was betrayed by a follower, arrested unjustly, denied by a friend, put on trial by enemies, mocked by the masses, bruised and beaten, pierced by nails in His hands and feet, killed on the same cross He carried, and buried in a tomb that was closed off to His mourning friends and family.

The emotional and physical pain that Jesus felt in just a mere 24 hours is unimaginable.

These pages in our Bibles, from start to finish, scream of suffering and heartbreak. The darkest day in history is recorded right here in this chapter. But, friends, don’t miss it. Intertwined through every hurt that Jesus felt in these moments…

He was thinking of you.

Let that sink in.

As He breathed His final breath, you were on His mind.

Not only were you on His mind, but you were His motive to endure what He did so that you could experience eternity with the Father. Christ’s purpose – His life and death and resurrection – has always been to make a way for us to know our Creator.

Isaiah 53:5 – ‘He was pierced for our transgressions.’

Romans 5:8 – ‘While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’

1 Peter 3:18 – ‘For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous…’

There was never a moment that Jesus didn’t know what He was doing or the why behind it. He was in this to save our broken world.

He was in it for you.

In the following hours that lead to Resurrection Sunday, take a moment to fix your mind on Jesus. Thank Him for the selfless, unconditional love that He has for you!

Becca Harbaugh