DAILY?READINGS: 1 Chronicles 4:24 to 5:26; Ezekiel 7; John 1:19-51
And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree. Acts 13:29
It was a moving experience in the cathedral in Antwerp to view the painting by Rubens entitled “The Descent from the Cross”. The artist seeks to portray how Christ’s loved ones might have managed to take Him down. It is evident loving hands are engaged in this arduous task. What a contrast to the wicked hands that had nailed Him there. As He suffered, the crowd had tempted Him to come down. He declined to do so, but rather suffered the punishment due to us for our sin. —Brian Powlesland
Was it the nails, O Saviour, that bound Thee to the tree?
Nay, t’was Thine everlasting love, Thy love for me, for me.
—K. Kelly