Jesus Christ endured ridicule and great suffering for our sake. His love for us is obvious and undeniable.

Passages: Luke 23:1–25, Psalm 57

We've all been teased. We've all been made fun of for some quirky character trait or a physical flaw. We've all bore the brunt of a joke but few of us have chosen mockery, willingly placing ourselves on the front lines ready to receive a barrage of verbal assaults. Jesus did. Jesus chose to endure the questioning of Pilate, the ridicule of the Jewish Council, and the rejecting crowd screaming, “Crucify, crucify Him.” Despite His power, Jesus allowed them to continue their insults knowing His death would soon follow.

The Bible says in Isaiah 53 that Jesus “was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” It says that He was “oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.”

Jesus swallowed the name–calling, the rejection, and the beatings for our sake. He bore this suffering and demonstrated His love for us. Christ's obedience placed Him in extremely uncomfortable places. Jesus was able to endure His circumstances because of His undeniable love for the Father and for us. We see Christ's undeniable love for us on the cross. His undeniable love marks us. In our hardest times, we can endure hardship and ridicule because of Christ. We can show the world what true love is. We can be undeniable.

Father, may You and Your work be undeniable in our lives.