
2 Cor. 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Look at the Photo in today’s Daily Devotional. It is the painting entitled “The Three Crosses” by the famous Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn, which depicts the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Daily Bread has the following useful illustration about it:
“When you study the painting of the crucifixion by the famous Dutch artist Rembrandt, your attention is first drawn to the cross and to the Lord Jesus. Then, as you look at the crowd around the cross, you are drawn to the faces of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. Finally, your eyes drift to the edge of the picture and catch sight of another figure – almost hidden in the shadows. This, we are told, was a self-portrait of Rembrandt, for he recognized that by his sins he helped nail Jesus there!
Someone has aptly said, ‘It is a simple thing to say that Christ died for the sin of the world. It is quite another thing to say that Christ died for my sin! It may be an interesting pastime to point fingers at those who crucified the Lord Jesus, but it is a shocking thought that I can be as indifferent as Pilate, as scheming as Caiaphas, as calloused as the soldiers, as ruthless as the mob, or as cowardly as the disciples. It isn’t just what they did – it was I who nailed Him to the tree. I crucified the Christ of God. I joined the mockery!”
Think again of Rembrandt’s painting. If you look closely, you will see that in the shadows you too are standing with bloodied hands, for Christ bore the penalty of your sin! And you will say, ‘He was wounded for me. Calvary’s cross reveals man’s hatred for God and God’s love for man.
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