It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews. They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭2‬-‭10‬
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

Isaiah said it best in these powerful words: “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” To more fully grasp the love, grace, and mercy of God, we must pause and dwell — even if just for a time — on the sufferings of Jesus Christ, His Son. Isaiah 53 is a powerful place to begin that reflection.

When I do this, I’m struck by the image of a man utterly compelled to love and serve others. He could not be stopped. He would not be deterred. His passion to seek and save the lost was far greater than the pain and suffering he endured at their hands.

What compels me these days? What passion drives me to move — to act without hesitation?

Lord, give me your heart. Let me be compelled by your love for the lost and driven by a passion that pushes me past injustice and unfair treatment — straight into the lives and hearts of those still walking in darkness. Strengthen my resolve. Restore my commitment. And help me raise high the banner of Jesus Christ every single day.

For truly, “His banner over me is love.”