Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; they then sat down there and kept watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."

Matthew 27:27-37

Our Savior hung between heaven and earth on a cross to bear every sin of every generation on His shoulders. It stands above all trees as a symbol of love, sacrifice, and salvation. At Calvary, God's only Son suffered a horrible death on a cross. That is the tree of life for us.

The cross of Christ reveals man's sin at its worst

and God's love at its best.

Our Daily Bread - July 11, 2004