Daily Devotions
Minor Characters at the Cross
Title: Minor Characters at the Cross Reading for October 19: Mark 15-16 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" Mark 15:38-39 I read somewhere about the minor characters at the cross in Mark's account of the crucifixion. This author made the point that after Peter's denial in chapter 14, in Mark's account we don't read about any of the disciples until after Jesus was raised. Instead, throughout chapter 14 and 15 of Mark we read about Mary of Bethany anointing Jesus head (14:3), about Simon of Cyrene bearing Jesus' cross (15:21), about the Centurion confessing Christ (15:39), and about the three faithful women who stayed there with Jesus until the end (15:41). The point of this? While all of the "important" people failed Jesus, it was the lowly "insignificant" people who shined bright. As Jesus said, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first." (Mark 10:31) Father, help us to see ourselves as you see us. We don't have to be "important" to be noticed in your eyes. Give us strength to do our part, no matter how unimportant we may consider our part to be.
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