Golgotha - The Skull

¹ Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. ² The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe ³ and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. ⁴ Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁵ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” ⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” ⁷ The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” ⁸⁹ and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” ¹¹ Jesus answered, When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” ¹² From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” ¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. ¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. ¹⁶¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. ¹⁹ Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹ The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” ²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” ²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ²⁴ “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. ²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. ²⁸ Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19, New International Version, ©2011)

Abigail spent 2 hours building her "castle." But what she doesn't know is what God can do with the gifts He gave her. She might have meant for it to be a castle, but God meant it for something else. May her hands be anointed to glorify Him and to preach the good news to all. I can't wait to see what she will be and how she will glorify God with her gifts as she grows in her faith, wisdom, and age.

Lord God, thank You for your sacrifice and thank You for the hope You gave us by Your resurrection. May You continue to expand Your Kingdom and establish Your Kingship in our hearts and in this family. We confess our sins as imperfect parents. You know I have anger issues, idleness in some areas of my life, a prideful heart, and selfish ambitions. Please continue to transform those areas and may the Holy Spirit continue to consume me from the inside out. I also ask for Your mercies as we raise our children. I will say it again, they are Yours. Help us to continue giving and dedicating them unto You. Thank You that You have great and awesome plans for our children and that Your plans for them will always surpass our plans for them. Thank You for Your promises to extend Your mercy to the generations. Please help us LORD to build this legacy to surrender all unto Jesus and to declare Your LORDship over this family line. We will continue to put Your blood over our door posts and teach our children to do so. By Your mercy and grace, we are victors over death and sin. In Jesus' awesome name. AMEN.