Lenten devotionals from our DS's wife Robbie Craker

"Here is your king, "Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!"
"Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.
"We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.
--John 19:14b-15

I was reading through all the scriptures that point to the cross this morning and these words jumped out at me – “we have no king but Caesar.”

Wow, what a turn around. The Israelites were to have no king but God. They demanded an earthly king, which only caused them trouble. Now they have no Israelite king and they are willing to give lip-service to Caesar. Talk about a long journey in the wrong direction!

Here they are standing in the presence of the king of Kings and they have no king but Caesar?!? They are not only denying Jesus, they are denying God and their entire religious belief system. I don’t feel I need to write another thing…

Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. If you want to save your life you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What could you give to get back your soul? –Mark 8:34-37 (CEV)

Father, forgive us when we give even lip-service to anyone but You. You are our salvation and our sustenance. Forgive us when we are tempted to deny You to avoid the crucifixion of our attitudes, behaviors, and preferences. You are our KING. Amen