Station #2 - Jesus Accepts His Cross

Read: Matthew 27: 27-31

Reflect: Today, we are shown with vivid detail that Jesus Christ is our suffering Saviour. He willingly put his body in the path of great danger and abuse for our sake - he was stripped of his clothes, mocked and humiliated, spat on, and beaten with sticks by those in power over him. But he wasn’t a passive victim. He knew that this path he was on would cost him and he willingly chose it, for our sake. 

To follow Jesus is to follow him in the way of suffering. To follow Jesus and pursue what is just and good, what is loving and merciful, will cost us something. It should cost us something! We might not find ourselves spat at or beaten with sticks (although many Christians have been for the sake of the gospel), but we may find ourselves called out of our zones of comfort and safety. 

What has following Jesus cost you? Has it cost you anything? How might Jesus be calling you out of comfort and into suffering, for his sake and the sake of others? 

Pray: Lord Jesus, you chose the cross and willingly endured such suffering for my sake. It was a costly choice and I thank you for it. Jesus, where I have seen my relationship with you as only a place of comfort and not a place of cost, please disrupt me. And where I am enduring much cost for taking up my cross and following you, please give me endurance and a taste of your tender love and mercy. Amen.