We have the tendency to focus on the sacrifice of Jesus during the Easter season more than any other time of the year, and understandably so. We talk about the betrayal by Judas, the mockery and humiliation, the pain of the scourging, and the agony of the cross. The events surrounding Calvary are bittersweet to us. There's a sadness because of his suffering, but also the joy and gratitude in knowing that because of his suffering, we can be saved. Many years ago, I heard a song by the band Smalltown Poets* that says: At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree on that beautiful, scandalous night you and me were atoned by his blood and forever washed white on that beautiful, scandalous night Seemingly contradictory terms are used here. Nevertheless, they are true. It's scandalous to be betrayed by a close friend, and it's tragic for an innocent man to be tortured and killed. Jesus knew that he would suffer and die, but he did it willingly because he knew what the result of his ...
