Did you know that Jesus CHOSE the cross knowing what suffering awaited him, because of you? Isaiah spoke about Jesus; "I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beards. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting." So when they slapped, flogged and wiped him and he remained silent, he knew he was fulfilling scriptures, however unpleasant they were. There is more in today's reading; "see my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man." He was going to be beaten and manhandled to the point no one would recognize him. Would you have gone to the cross if you knew all that was going to happen? Jesus did, he chose to trust the one who promised to not leave his soul in hell, and by his one sacrifice we are children of God today, Halleluyah!
