Daily Devotional For Friday, March 20, 2026
Good day Southside and today our devotional comes from Matthew 27:32-44:
“As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross. (33) And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, (34) they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink. (35) And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. (36) And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. (37) And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” (38) At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. (39) And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads (40) and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ (41) In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, (42) ‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. (43) He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ (44) The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words” (NASB).
Compared to the other Gospels, Matthew does not give us many details about Jesus on the cross. He does tell us that two robbers were crucified with Jesus and a man named Simon was forced to carry the crossbeam for Jesus to the execution site. What Matthew does tell us are the continual insults Jesus endured and experienced while on the cross from the religious leaders.
Those condemned to death by crucifixion were expected to carry the nearly 70 pound crossbeam to the crucifixion site. Then they were stripped of all clothing and crucified naked. This was done to cause more humiliation, shame and embarrassment. Jesus, so weakened from scourging, was unable to do that. Simon was from Cyrene, which was Libya. He was probably a Jewish pilgrim who had come to town to celebrate the Passover. It says that Jesus was given wine mixed with gall to help lessen His pain.
It was common in those days for Jewish women to do this as an act of mercy and kindness. They did this in obedience to Proverbs 31:6a. Gall was a pain-killing narcotic that helped lessen the pain. Some see this as a means to lessen Jesus’ pain while others see it as means to increase His pain – to prolong His life while still crucified. Either way, Jesus refused it once He had tasted it. He would do nothing to lessen His pain (vs. 34). Jesus refused to not only lessen His pain, He also refused to go unconscious due to the strength of this narcotic. Some think that myrrh was in it. Myrrh has a very bitter taste to it.
Crucifixion is probably the most gruesome forms of torture and death ever invented. It’s purpose was to not only torture, but to prolong that torture for days and even up to a week. Most died by asphyxiation. With one’s arms stretched upward and outward with nails in the wrist, breathing became a struggle. Within minutes the arms go numb and limp as muscles spasm. This brought stress to the rib cage. You could not breathe in or out. In order to do this, you had to push up with your feet, which had a nail through the ankles, to breathe. This caused unbelievable pain. Most died by suffocation because the pain to push long term was too much.
Matthew saw the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy found in Psalm 22:18. The placard above Jesus, “King of the Jews,” is ironic in that the Roman soldiers treat Jesus as if He was, since they cast lots over His royal purple robe. Many scholars believe the third cross or middle cross was for Barabbas. It seems that Rome was going to crucify three criminals. Crucifixions were always along well-traveled roads. This was done to put fear in anyone who attempted to oppose Rome.
Of all the temptations Jesus faced this was probably the biggest one – to come down from the cross. Jesus could have done this but we praise God He did not so that we could receive forgiveness of sin, salvation and eternal life. All of this would have been forfeited had Jesus come down from the cross before He died. It is sad that Christians fuss and fume with each other in churches. The Apostle Paul reminds us that focusing on Christ’s suffering and not our own selfishness, helps eliminate that from happening (see 1 Cor. 1:18-2:5.) There can be no posturing at the foot of the cross.
What is interesting to me here is not one Jewish leader or person ever denied the supernatural miracles He performed. In fact, their taunting seems to imply they knew He had supernatural power. In Luke’s Gospel one criminal taunts and mocks Jesus while another rebukes that criminal and calls out to Jesus to save him (see Luke 23:39-43). Matthew does not tell us this because he wants us to focus on Christ’s suffering. Jesus could have come off the cross. So, why doesn’t He? I believe that New Testament Greek scholar William D. Mounce is right when he wrote this: “It was the power of love, not nails, that kept Him there” (Source: William D. Mounce, Matthew, p. 268).
Reflection Assignment: Since Jesus’ love for us kept Him on the cross, does your love for HIm keep you faithfully serving Him to make disciples? Why or why not? How often do you focus on Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross? If more Christians focused more on the cross than being cross with each other, do you think this would help the fellowship in the Body of Christ? Why or why not?
Scripture To Meditate On: Philippians 3:8, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I want to know You and the power of Your Resurrection. I want people to see You, not me. Please forgive me when I go through life ignoring and forgetting Your agony on the cross for me and others. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly