Day 12 -- The Cross He Bore

"And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left." ~ Luke 23.33

"It must be remembered, however, that he died as he had lived, in the midst of sinners. 'His position symbolically set forth the significance of His death."

One of the the highlights out of today's reading is when Leahy discusses how even though it is important for us to look to the actual physical suffering that Christ endured for His people, the single most important issue that we must dwell and meditate on is His spiritual suffering that He endured for us.

"the emphasis is not on the physical aspect of Christ's sufferings. Great as the physical agony of Christ undoubtedly was, it is unlikely that on the cross he suffered more in this sense than did those crucified with him. His physical agony was as nothing in comparison to his spiritual suffering. That is why the Gospels direct our attention to what the Lord endured as our sin-bearer."

Once again we are confronted with the providence and sovereignty of God in this moment. For it was between these two thieves that Christ knew that it was the Father's will to be there in their midst, hanging between Heaven and Earth.

So who really had the best angle on the cross? Who was it that should have clearly understood the significance of the Lamb of God being sacrificed as an atonement for sin? Would there be one that clearly should have looked to Christ in that moment, knowing that it should have been him hanging there?

"Barabbas had a wonderful angle on the cross; he could point to the middle cross and say, "There would I have been, if He had not been put in my place."