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What's the craziest thing you've ever seen? In Matthew's account of Jesus' death, the earth quakes, rocks split, tombs open, and the dead are raised. Crazy as it sounds, Matthew insists it really happened—and that it changes everything. Unlike a moralism without miracles, the gospel offers real hope: when Jesus died, He put death to death and opened the way into God's presence. And this hope isn't reserved for a select few. The crucified and risen Son of God grants access to God to all who call on Him.

The cross is uncomfortable. We’d rather look ahead to Jesus’ resurrection and victory than dwell on his suffering and abandonment. But in Matthew’s account of the crucifixion, Jesus is forsaken by his disciples, rejected by his people, mocked by the world’s powers, and finally cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Yet even the mockery reveals profound truth: Jesus is the crucified King, the Son of God, and the Savior who refused to save himself so that he could save us. Jesus was forsaken by all, including God, so that all who trust in Him by faith would never be forsaken by God.

There’s a lot of pressure to be perfect—to be a perfect parent, spouse, friend, employee, Christian. But none of us are perfect. We are sinful, unrighteous, and still in progress. So how can imperfect people like us stand before a perfect and holy God? Matthew 27 helps us see the answer as we slow down and consider what Jesus accomplished through His death. Jesus was innocent and perfectly righteous, yet He willingly took our place so that, through faith, we could receive His righteousness. Jesus died to cover you with His righteousness.

Following the arrest of Jesus, Matthew 26:57–75 captures two different, but related, "trials" unfolding at roughly the same time. As they do, we learn important truth, both about who Jesus is and what He came to do.

How much does Jesus love you? And how do you know? In Matthew 26, we see Jesus moving steadily toward the cross—knowing exactly what was coming, wrestling in Gethsemane with the cup of God’s wrath, and then willingly embracing the Father’s plan. This familiar story of betrayal, abandonment, and agony is ultimately a story of love. As we behold Jesus, we see that His death was not an accident or a tragedy. It was the fulfillment of God’s plan from before the foundation of the world. Jesus died, according to plan, because He loves you.

The Bible is fascinatingly honest about our shortcomings. It doesn’t hide the weakness, unfaithfulness, fear, sin, and fragility of God’s people—it puts them on display. Why? Because we are fallen, finite, fragile people who falter. And that’s precisely the point of the Lord’s Supper. As Jesus shares the Passover meal with disciples who will betray, deny, and desert Him, He reframes the meal around His own body and blood, poured out for the forgiveness of sins. We come to this Table not because we are worthy, but because we need Jesus. We are precisely the kinds of people that Jesus came to die for.

What is Jesus’ death worth to you? We all put a value on things—and sometimes we discover we’ve badly underestimated what something is actually worth. In Matthew 26, as Jesus moves toward the cross, we meet people who place radically different values on His death: some see Him as barely worth anything, others let someone else determine His value, and even His own disciples don’t yet grasp what He is about to accomplish. But one woman seems to understand. She takes what may be her most valuable possession and pours it all out for Jesus. Why? Because she understands something we desperately need to see: the value we place on Jesus’ death is to reflect the value He placed on us in His death.

Psalm 41

What do we do when we’re waiting for God’s deliverance—especially when the waiting is difficult, painful, or the consequences of sin seem more than we can take? Psalm 40 teaches us that remembering God’s grace in the past helps us rely on God’s grace in the present.

One of the difficult realities of life as a Christian is that while our sins are forgiven when we trust in Jesus, and the wrath of God that we deserve for our sins is removed, the consequences of our sins are not immediately removed in this life. God disciplines those whom He loves. But what are we to do when God’s discipline seems more than we can take? Psalm 39 teaches us that when God’s hand is heavy upon us because of our sin, we are to hope in the Lord and not sin.

What do you do when your conscience won’t let you forget your sin? Psalm 38 gives us a path from guilt to peace: receive God’s conviction, renounce our attempts at self-justification, and find rest in Christ. David’s burden was too heavy for him to carry—but not too heavy for Jesus. Our peace isn’t found in the completeness of our confession, but in the completeness of Christ’s atonement.

A real temptation of Christians is to look at the lives of non-Christians and feel envy. Envy when we see them succeeding and we're not; envy over some happiness they're experiencing; envy when we labor so hard to follow after Christ and yet see others being rewarded in the world. It can make us wonder: is following Jesus worth it? Psalm 37 teaches us that it is. Psalm 37 teaches us that following Jesus is worth it.

The gospel isn't just the ABCs of Christianity—it's the A-to-Z of the Christian life. We never outgrow our need for the good news of Jesus. In Psalm 36, David shows us why: left to ourselves, our hearts drift toward sin, but God's steadfast love continually draws us back to life. This psalm teaches us to preach and pray the gospel over ourselves, continually. As we remember both the depth of our need and the greatness of God's steadfast love, we find the grace to keep trusting, rejoicing, and following Christ.

What do you do when others tell lies about you? When you're falsely accused, mocked, betrayed, hurt by others unjustly, and want revenge? In situations like these, Psalm 35 teaches us that vindication, not vengeance, is the way of Jesus' people.

Praise the Lord because He blesses those who take refuge in Him.