Today: The Glory of the Cross: a Holy Week reflection and prayer guide to prepare our hearts and minds for Easter. Curated by The Park Forum.

Psalm 4.4
Ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

Who Put Jesus On The Cross (an excerpt) | by A.W. Tozer

Our Lord Jesus Christ “was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

For our iniquities and our transgressions He was bruised and wounded. I do not even like to tell you of the implications of His wounding. It really means that He was profaned and broken, stained and defiled. He was Jesus Christ when men took Him into their evil hands. Soon He was humiliated and profaned. They plucked out His beard. He was stained with His own blood, defiled with earth’s grime. Yet He accused no one and He cursed no one. He was Jesus Christ, the wounded One.

He was profaned for our sakes. He who is the second Person of the Godhead was not only wounded for us, but He was also profaned by ignorant and unworthy men. Isaiah reported that “the chastisement of our peace was upon him.”

But the suffering of Jesus Christ was not punitive. It was not for Himself and not for punishment of anything that He Himself had done.

The suffering of Jesus was corrective. He was willing to suffer in order that He might correct us and perfect us, so that His suffering might not begin and end in suffering, but that it might begin in suffering and end in healing.

Brethren, that is the glory of the cross! That is the glory of the kind of sacrifice that was for so long in the heart of God! That is the glory of the kind of atonement that allows a repentant sinner to come into peaceful and gracious fellowship with his God and Creator! 

It began in His suffering and it ended in our healing. It began in His wounds and ended in our purification. It began in His bruises and ended in our cleansing.

Lenten Evening Prayer: The Daily Examen
1. Opening prayer of invitation: become aware of God’s presence (2 minutes).
2. Review the day with gratitude (3 minutes).
3. Pay attention to your emotions (3 minutes).
4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it (5 minutes).
5. Closing prayer: look toward tomorrow (2 minutes).

Today’s Readings
Leviticus 5 (Listen – 3:35)
Psalms 3-4 (Listen – 1:56)

Holy Week Reflections
Part 4 of 5, read more on TheParkForum.org

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