Matthew 27:46-49

I always wondered why they gave Jesus vinegar to drink. Thanks to Wikipedia, I now know:

Jesus was offered vinegar while on the cross according to the King James version of the Bible, yet actually it was sour wine or wine that was turning which was given out by women of charity to comfort people dying on the cross as this was a common daily occurrence as a Roman punishment of the time.

It's funny, though, the way this is worded, it's like the Bible is wrong. But earlier on in the article it says that the word vinegar is from the words for sour wine.
I'm blown away that people can watch someone suffer and laugh about it. Like, I hate cats, but I could never hurt one. One time I had one lined up that I was going to run over. It wouldn't move and so I slammed on the brakes and swerved. I was so freaked that I might hit it.
I think the more you become familiar with something the more you become calloused to it. You don't even realize you're doing it.
When we first start off into sin, we barely do anything. But the more we do it, the easier it becomes and the more we're willing to do. After a while we're doing things that would have shocked us before we started, but are comfortable because it's just one more step. JM

Matthew 27:45

Sin is loads of fun. If it wasn't, then it wouldn't really be tempting. It's fun to sin, that is until you start to realize the consequences. Selfishness (and that's what sin really is) has its momentary reward, but the consequences will hurt you, then the guilt will finish you off.
I think people started to realize that they had screwed up when the sky went dark at noon for 3 hours. It's kind of one of those "Oh crap! What have I done!" moments. I hate those. JM

Matthew 27:38-44

I bet one of the worst moments of the whole crucifixion was when everybody was making fun of Jesus. Not to minimize the physical pain, which I'm sure was extraordinary, but I can't imagine everybody insulting. People that know me. People that don't know me. People that have seen me do miraculous things.
Betrayal is a horrible thing. It can make you not want to trust anybody. That's what's amazing to me: that Jesus still trusts me. He can use anybody in the world, and yet he trusts me enough to use me. And I betray his trust over and over again. It's like I'm one of those guys making fun of Jesus while He's on the cross.

Matthew 27:33-37

The soldiers around Jesus get a bad rap. They were just doing their job. They were good at it, too. To sit there and cold-heartedly torture someone to death would be impossible, I think, for me. But they beat him, they mock him, they torture him, they gamble for his clothes, and they mock him while he's dying.
And they do all of this without even thinking about it. All in a day's work, I guess. I wonder when they started to notice that Jesus was different than everybody else they had come across? JM

Matthew 27:32

I wonder what Simon of Cyrene was doing that day. Did he just happen to be walking by when they forced him to carry Jesus cross? Or was he somehow intrigued by Jesus and wanted to be near him, if only to watch him die? Or maybe he didn't like Jesus. Maybe he was glad that they were going to crucify Jesus and wanted to watch.
No matter what, I'm sure there was some kind of emotion tied to that day. It was probably one of the most momentous events in his life. I like to think that he ended up having a relationship with Jesus. I'm kind of an optimistic person, though. JM

Matthew 26:1-5

These next few chapters are awesome. I love how Jesus sets up the whole scene by reminding his disciples that he's about to be crucified on Passover. Then it talks about how the Pharisees said that they wanted to trap Jesus, but they were going to wait until after the Passover. Of course, Jesus ends up being right.
I wonder if the disciples were curious about Jesus word choice of saying he will be "given" to his enemies. I wonder if they thought about who would be doing the giving.
I love to villify Judas and make him the guilty guy, but really I'm just as guilty as he is. It wasn't Judas who gave Jesus over, it was Jesus' desire to rescue us. Kind of puts sin in perspective when you see the consequences of your selfishness. JM

Matthew 21:1-11

The whole city was excited that Jesus was there. Jesus has finally come to Jerusalem. People have heard stories about what he's done nearby, but this is the first time that he's come to their town. Something obviously incredible is going to happen. They throw down palm leaves and their coats and celebrate.
People like to juxtapose this scene with his crucifixion 5 days later and wonder what happened. But when you read how his arrest and trial went down, it was all a carefully orchestrated plot by people in power. Jesus' impact on people was obvious, and people in charge were scared. He was bringing about change, and it was going to continue in their city.
The movement of God, and true Christian spirituality can be scary. We're unfamiliar with it, and sometimes it can be uncomfortable. It's a different mindset on how things should work within the church, and a lot of times people in power react adversely to it. I pray that I can embrace it and develop a ministry that embraces spirituality and encourages people to search for truth and fall passionately in love with Jesus. JM