God’s judgment would pass through the land indiscriminately; every family subject to God’s wrath, even the Israelites. Their only hope for salvation was to take shelter under God’s sacrificial provision.

A lamb had to be slain.

A lamb without spot or blemish — slaughtered as a substitute for a sinner.

All throughout Egypt there would be either a dead lamb or a dead son. Those who marked their doorways with the blood of a lamb as an act of faith received forgiveness, and the angel of death “passed over” them. But those who did not, saw death come to their home.

Since then, God’s people commemorate the Passover. It is a law for all generations.

REFLECT

When Jesus stood up to bless the food, He held up bread. All Passover meals had bread. He blessed the wine—all Passover meals had wine. But not one of the Gospels mentions the main course… What kind of Passover would be celebrated without lamb?

There was no lamb on the table because the Lamb of God was at the table.

Jesus was the main course…

In Mark, when Jesus says, “This is my body… This is my blood… poured out,” he means: I am the One that the prophets spoke about. I am the Lamb of God to which all the other lambs pointed, the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world.

(from Timothy Keller’s Jesus the King, p. 182-183)

RESPOND

As you continue on the path that Jesus took to Calvary prepare your heart to grasp the awesome depth of His love for you.

REFLECT

In the end, Jesus submitted to His Father. He obeyed. He took the cup. And He drank every single drop. He did it for you.

Imagine yourself that night in the garden with Jesus. He asked you to watch and pray. But what did you do? You slept and then you fled.

Think about the last time you felt fearful and alone. Did you fall on your knees to pray? Did you trust your pain to your heavenly Father?

How do we pray? When we pray it is always about us. We pray for what we want. We do not care that God wants the best for us. We want Him to see it our way. We want to control those around us, even God. And then we defy Him. We do it our way.

Still, He loves us.

RESPOND

Pray: Jesus, thank you for drinking the cup. Thank you for not giving up on me. Lord, I am afraid. The world has gone dark and dangerous. Evil and disease is all around me. I cannot make it alone. I need you Lord. Give me the strength to endure. Give me the wisdom to do what is right in Your eyes. Strengthen my faith. Teach me to trust in Your goodness and mercy. Amen.

REFLECT

The worst thing about betrayal is that it is done by someone close to you. Have you ever been betrayed? What do you do when betrayal comes?

Judas—a name synonymous with traitor. He was the scoundrel of the scriptures, history’s most notorious villain—who betrayed the Son of God for thirty pieces of silver. He was a disciple. Entrusted with the moneybag. He walked, talked, and ate with Jesus, day after day, for three years.

But one night, accompanied by a huge regiment of soldiers, Judas Iscariot approached Jesus and betrayed Him with a kiss.

Later, overcome with regret, Judas attempted to return the money to his fellow conspirators; as though doing so could erase his guilt.

The chief priests rejected Judas’ offer. They considered it blood money. And indeed it was, stained and marked with the blood of the Lamb.

Instead, two men died on trees that day. Judas took his own life, and Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many.

Jesus knew full well that Judas was a traitor. Yet he never mistreated him. Never gossiped about him. He still washed his feet. He still invited him to supper. He called him “friend.” He treated the betrayer as if he were faithful.

Jesus extends this same amazing grace to each one of us; and yet we betray him time and time again.

RESPOND

Think of the person who has hurt you the most, whose betrayal you have refused to forgive. Take a piece of paper and write that person’s name on it. From the cross Jesus asked His Father to forgive his executioners. Can you forgive?

Pray: Jesus, I ask you today to take away the anger and resentment that I have carried in my heart against (name of the person who has betrayed you). Help me walk in love, just as You loved and gave Yourself up for me. Help me forgive, just as You have forgiven me. Help me not hold any grudges against this person for another minute. Thank you Jesus that you give me your peace. Amen.

(Now tear up the piece of paper where you have written the name and throw it away.)

REFLECT

What do you do when the horror of past failures haunts you?

Peter’s crime was as dreadful as Judas’ treachery. His cowardly claims about not knowing Jesus were as bold a betrayal as Judas’ kiss. Both their actions led to unbearable guilt.

But Peter realized his sin when the rooster crowed. He remembered what Jesus said. And he was filled with sorrow.

In the garden, when their eyes locked, Judas responded to Jesus with the most diabolical kind of hypocrisy—a kiss. But in the courtyard, when Jesus looked into Peter’s eyes, Peter broke down in tears.

Judas felt a desperate regret and killed himself. Peter was filled with remorse and repented. His courage failed. But his faith did not. Peter believed in Jesus and was restored.

In our lives, what you and I do with Jesus makes all the difference.

RESPOND

Now, think of a person you have hurt, someone you have failed, big time. Have you not betrayed someone too? Do you feel that there is no hope for you? Take heart. Ask God for forgiveness. Just like He forgave Peter, He will forgive you.

Pray: Jesus, You know precisely and intimately all the dimensions of my sinful heart. There is nothing I can hide from You. But I thank You that my sin, no matter how ugly, is no match for Your grace. Thank You Jesus for convicting me without condemning me. I know that You resist the proud, but give grace to the humble—and the last thing I want is to experience Your resistance. So I humble myself before You today. Forgive me, Lord.

Please grant me the kindness, humility, and courage to ask for forgiveness from (name the person you have hurt). Help me do everything I need to do to make things right with him/her. Teach me Lord how to love like you love, without conditions or reservations, so that You may be glorified. Amen.

REFLECT

Pilate’s question is yours today. What will you do with Jesus Christ? You can reject Him. Or accept Him. You can follow Him. Or you can walk away. It’s your choice.

RESPOND

Pray: Jesus, forgive me. I am a sinner. I have betrayed you time and time again. I deserve only punishment. But on the cross, You took the blame, and paid the price for my salvation. Your innocent blood was shed to wash away my guilt. Lord, today I choose you. I give my life to you. Give me the courage to turn away from the snares and traps of this world. Lead me Lord Jesus. I want to follow you, today and all the days of my life. Amen.

REFLECT

Jesus is condemned to die a shameful death. The King of Kings wears a crown of thorns. His bloodthirsty executioners spit on Him. They take turns beating him with chains and leather thongs with iron hooks to rip into His flesh and tear away pieces of His body.

Stay on that picture for a minute.

Look. Jesus Christ is tied to a pillar to suffer pain and humiliation from His cruel torturers.

Listen. Above the din of the crowd, you hear a hissing sound each time they strike Him with their whips. Each hiss speaks your name. Each lash bears your sins.

But Jesus says nothing. He suffers quietly.

He takes it all—for you, because He loves you.

RESPOND

Pray: Jesus, You bled and suffered for me. You could have escaped the agony and death on the cross. You are God. And you have the power to do anything. But you saw me, lost in my sins and on my way to hell. And so Jesus, you willingly took the cross. You stayed. For me. And you saved me. Who can comprehend such love? I didn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it. Thank you Jesus for taking my place. Thank you for saving me. Jesus, I need you. In this dark and sinful world, walk with me. Catch me when I fall. Thank you Lord. I know I am not alone for you are always with me. Amen.

REFLECT

What or who do you look to when life gets tough?

Far more than a tool for capital punishment, the cross was a public symbol of disgust and degradation. It was hideously offensive. Obscene. Reserved for rebellious slaves, insurgents, and the vilest of criminals, it was meant not to just break a man’s body, but to crush his spirit, to humiliate as well as to harm.

Beyond the pain of the cross was the shame of the cross. Yet the Son, fully submitted to the Father’s will, freely bore it all.

Imagine the agonizing journey to Golgotha. Picture the God-man, weak, bloody and battered, staggering up the hill to meet a slow and shameful death.

Each step Jesus took was deliberate. He took each one for you.

RESPOND

Look to the cross of Christ.

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility He endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Think of the most difficult thing you face right now. The loss of a job? A failing marriage? Sickness? Financial debt? Strained relationships? All of the above? Consider the current pandemic—what it might do to your future and the future of your family—and hear God say to you, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Pray: Jesus, You carried our sins and guilt without a word of reproach or complaint, because You knew it was the Father’s will. You endured suffering because You set Your eyes on the joy that was to come. Lord, help me keep my eyes on You amid the chaos. Be my light, stay with me, as I try to understand this present darkness. Amen.

REFLECT

Do you ever feel like an unfair burden has been placed on your shoulders?

What a shock it must have been for this foreigner from Cyrene. He was merely passing by, eager to go about his own business, and then stumbling upon the horrific sight of a brutally beaten man being paraded in the streets, carrying the beam of his cross on the way to his execution. Simon did not volunteer for the task; he was compelled. He knew enough not to resist a Roman centurion.

Perhaps Simon was God’s answer to Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane. The help He needed to get to Calvary. The help He needed to carry out his mission.

You wonder: Did Simon carry the whole cross, or just the lighter end of it? It does not matter. Simon only carried the wood of the cross. The curse of the weight of the world’s sin still rested upon Jesus’ shoulders.

RESPOND

Would you be Simon to someone today? Would you help someone carry his or her cross?

As you do, ponder on the cost of following in the footsteps of Christ.

“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

Pray: Jesus, thank you that although I make many plans, in the end it is Your purpose that prevails. I plan my course, but You direct my steps. Thank you that as You redirect my life, often against my will, You also change my heart. So that with each detour from my own agenda, I begin to learn what it means to willingly, even joyfully, exchange my dreams for Yours. Today I surrender to Your plans. Disrupt my schedule. Let me be the answer to someone’s prayer. Let me be Simon in someone’s life. Even if it means that I be inconvenienced. Enlighten me that I may understand that it is not about me. It is all about You. And YOU are greater, and more valuable, and more wonderful than any plan I could have created for myself. Amen.

Amidst the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, take a moment and think of the people who are in need even of the bare necessities of life. Look around you. See with the eyes of your heart. Reach out with love.

Without Walls invites you to consider donating to the Food4DPoorPH Project. Your contribution will be used to purchase food packs for some of the most vulnerable urban poor communities impacted by the current lockdown.

REFLECT

Would you suffer the death penalty for the crimes of another?

It was customary during crucifixions to nail an inscription on the cross containing the accusations against the person crucified. The sign Pilate placed over Jesus’ head accused Him of treason against Caesar. While the charge was false, the statement was absolutely true—Not only is Jesus King of the Jews, He is King over all!

Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7b)

By silently accepting the death sentence for the false claims against Him, Jesus became the willing substitute sin-bearer for countless legitimate charges that God could hold against us. Jesus, our Scapegoat, took our sin upon Himself, bearing the weight of our guilt and shame and carried it far away from us.

That day in Calvary, God did not just make salvation possible for sinners; He made it certain.

The Lamb of God was slain, fully satisfying God’s wrath on our behalf.

For without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrews 9:22)

RESPOND

Behold Christ crucified! See today what many missed two thousand years ago in Calvary:

God cancelled the record of the charges against us. He took it away by nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14)

Jesus took our place on the cross. He who knew no sin became sin for us. And at that very moment our debt was cancelled, paid for, taken away.

Think of one sin in your life that you have not given up. What is God showing you right now?

Pray: Jesus, you know my heart. You see my life. You know my sins. Thank you for taking my sins and nailing them to your cross. Thank you that You do not just offer me forgiveness; You offer me Your very righteousness. Thank you that you do not just offer me a second chance at life; You offer me Yourself—the perfect substitute who did it right the first (and only) chance He got, and whose righteousness is perfectly sufficient to earn the Father’s approval. Thank you that Your perfection is forever credited to my account, if I only believe. I believe today, Lord! Thank you I can now walk in freedom and newness of life. Thank you for your peace.

REFLECT

Do you think God is too busy with big world problems to care about your everyday needs?

At this moment Jesus is carrying out the most important act in human history—the salvation of man. He is fastened to the cross by spikes on His hands and feet. He has been stripped of His garments and humiliated. His completely brutalized body hangs on the cross. He is in agony.

Suddenly, Jesus sees His mother. He sees her. And a new pain grips Him.

Through His labored breathing, He speaks to make sure His mother will be cared for after His death.

Consider the dimensions of God’s love. How far reaching yet how deeply intimate. He cares enough to fulfill the most significant need of the world, and yet stops to meet even the most insignificant needs of your own life.

He sees you. All of you. Every single detail of your life.

RESPOND

St. Peter said:

“Cast all your cares, anxieties, worries, and all your concerns—once and for all—on Jesus, because He sees you and loves you with the deepest love.” (1 Peter 5:7 AMP, paraphrased)

To cast means to hurl or throw something away forcefully. Like casting a heavy fishing net upon the sea.

Now think about your own tangled mess of anxieties. Decide today to fling them away as hard as you can, as far as you can, out of your reach, and out of your heart—into God’s hands.

Pray: Jesus, thank you that you see me. You see all of my fears and worries, my doubts and disappointments, my shame and my sin.  You see it all and You do not turn your face away. Oh, how you love me! Your cross declares your love for me! Your cross tells me you not only see me, but you are also WITH me.  You are with me through it all.  And so, as I cast all my cares upon you, help me to believe that you, Jesus, are all I really need in this life. You are more than enough. Amen.

REFLECT

If you only had a few minutes left to live, what would you do?

One thief grasps who God is. The person you least expect is the person who “gets” it.

Not because he witnessed the blind receive sight, or the dead raised, or lepers made whole. He never saw Jesus walk on water, or calm a storm. He did not witness Jesus feeding thousands with a few loaves of bread and some fish.

The thief was facing death. He was standing on the brink of hell.

He did not see the signs and wonders that followed Jesus. He only saw Jesus as King, mighty to save.

Picture that moment. When Jesus was at His weakest, when He Himself was close to death, He bestowed on another man, eternal life.

On his deathbed, the thief acknowledged his own ungodliness. He knew what he deserved, and that was to rot in hell. But in that desperate moment, he humbled himself under the mighty hand of God and dared hope for heaven.

Here was a crucified man trusting in a crucified Christ. What a testament to the worth of the precious blood being shed by Jesus on the cross beside him.

RESPOND

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. (Isaiah 55:6)

See what the repentant thief did, and do likewise. Confess your need for Christ, throw yourself upon His mercy, and surrender your life to Him.

Pray:

Jesus, I am guilty. I confess that I am a sinner in need of saving. Save me from the punishment I so rightly deserve!

I cannot save myself – not by good works, not by money, not by religion. Only You can save me, Lord! I see that now.

You lived a life without sin, a life I could never live; and You died a sinner’s death, a death I should have died. On the cross You took my place, bearing the punishment for my rebellion, satisfying God’s just wrath against me and thus making me right with Him. You did that for me.

I believe in my heart that You rose defeating sin, Satan and death to give me eternity with You and a life I could not possibly have otherwise – dead to sin and alive to God, no longer under law but under grace, free to love, hope, and walk in the right way.

Thank you, Jesus, for who You are and what You have done.

Amen.

Disclaimer: There are no prescribed words that you must pray to be saved. Therefore trust not in any scripted prayer or the fact that you prayed it. Trust in Christ!

REFLECT

What is your greatest fear?

On the cross Jesus drinks every last drop of the Father’s cup: the cup of God’s holy wrath against the sins of the world—past, present and future.

Imagine His final moments. Picture this bloodied, disfigured remnant of a man hanging on the cross in tormenting pain, struggling to breathe, the weight of his body depressing the muscles required for exhalation. He struggles to raise himself in order to speak. Intense muscle cramps and bolts of pain shoot through his body. His knees buckle. Bugs feast on his wounds and orifices and the stench of infected flesh and uncontrolled bodily functions fill the air.

The pitch-dark blackness of our sin falls upon the Son. And the Father looks away.

No longer can Jesus cry out to His Abba. In that moment, only El is there: the Holy God, God Almighty. And before Him is Jesus, the Sin of the World.

Forsaken. Separated from the Father. This is darkness. This is hell.

RESPOND

St. Paul says that nothing can separate us from God’s love. NOTHING.

“Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell, nor anything else in all creation, can ever separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NLT).

Jesus was forsaken so that you would not have to be. Rest in that truth.

Pray: Jesus, help me grasp more and more each day what it is to be loved by You. Help me to not just understand it in my head, but to know it fully in my heart—that deep, unshakable, perfect love that only comes from You. That love that casts out all fear. May it fill me, and overflow from me, to all those around me. Amen.

REFLECT

What stops you from drawing near to God today?

The veil of the temple was a massive tapestry made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twined linen, with cherubim worked into it by skilled craftsmen. Measuring about 60 feet high and four inches thick, it could withstand the severest strain.

But at the moment of Jesus’ death, that instant when His spirit was torn away from His body, the veil that concealed the Holy of Holies was torn as well.

Jesus made the perfect offering for the remission of sin, once and for all. And for the first time since the Fall, reentry into God’s presence was made possible.

God tore the veil that separated ordinary people like you and me from Himself.

Because of His life and death, access to the throne of grace became available to ALL who put their hope in Him. Even to the worst of sinners.

“There is an entrance made for the greatest sinners. If there had only been a small hole cut through it, the lesser offenders might have crept through; but what an act of abounding mercy is this, that the veil is rent in the midst, from top to bottom, so the chief of sinners may find ample passage!” – Charles Spurgeon

RESPOND

Are you weighed down by guilt? Shame? Do religious rituals give you no peace? God promises to give you rest. Draw near to him. Today. He waits. Walk through the veil that has been torn wide open for you.

REFLECT

The truth of the resurrection is of supreme and eternal importance. It is the anchor of the Christian faith and proves that Jesus is who He claimed to be: the Son of God, the true and perfect King — who, in an act of sheer grace, humbled Himself to die on the cross to save YOU. His death means NO death for those who believe this to be true.

Do you believe?

If so, then His resurrection means YOUR resurrection! In believing in the finished work of Christ Jesus, YOU are promised eternal life! He will make all things new! Your struggles, disappointments and anxieties—no matter how devastating—are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the resurrection promises you a future of unimaginable beauty and immeasurable good. To the extent that that future is real to you, it will change everything about how you live right now.

The resurrection of Christ is not just something to believe in; it is something to be lived.

RESPOND

Below are scripture graphics that contain some of God’s promises to you in Christ Jesus. Read them, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you believe… and LIVE—BELIEVING!

(Consider sharing this good news with someone else. You can download a scripture graphic and send it to a friend or post it on social media. For online posts, please use the hashtag #Walkway2020.)