QBC DAILY NUGGET
Friday, April 3, 2026

MATTHEW 27:24-31 – “So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”  Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.”

THEME OF THE DAY: OH, THE WONDROUS CROSS OF CHRIST.  As we do at Christmas, this week there will be certain passages of scripture given more attention than normal.  Rightly so. At Christmas we celebrate, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and they shall call His name Immanuel” (Matthew 1:23).

This week we celebrate what is known as Passion Week – the last week of our Lord’s life on earth.  It began with Palm Sunday and Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Then we observe the Upper Room Discourse with the washing of feet, the Last Supper. We go to the Garden of Gethsemane, the arrest of Jesus, Peter’s betrayal, the mockery of a trial, and the scourging of our Lord leading to His crucifixion and resurrection.

Today, we stay at the foot of Christ’s cross. We look up, humbled, over the amazing display of love and the agonizing suffering of our Savior.  As we do, we are staring at the pivotal point in all of human history. It started with the promise from God right after the fall of our first parents in the Garden of Eden. This scripture is known as the protoevangelium – “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).  From there, all history looks to the cross and God’s answer to our sin problem.  And we will forever be reminded of the sacrifice of our Lord. It is a dominant theme in heaven as it is clearly seen in the great worship scene in the Revelation –

“And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”” (Revelation 5:6-12).

Application? Not hard to determine.  As Christmas isn’t to be just a seasonal celebration, neither is the death of our Lord. Visit the cross of Christ often.  See His love for us by lingering long at the cross, we maintain a fervency of first love for Him hanging upon the cursed tree for us!

PRAYER. Father, I will never have the words to express praise and thanksgiving due You for Your Son.

REFLECTION:  The cross of Christ is not merely a theological truth to believe. It is central to Christian living.