John 19:17-22

John 19:17-22 
English Standard Version

  Jesus certainly didn't deserve to die like this, between two convicted thieves on a hill outside Jerusalem, but he spent his life among the people with the least hope in society, so in many ways, it was fitting.
  He went to the lepers, to the outcast, to the socially marginalized.  And who is more marginalized than convicted thieves on a cross, condemned under Roman justice to die a brutal and public death?
  The cross wasn't just a painful way to die -- it was public humiliation.  Jesus was elevated, in misery, and naked for all to see.  Messiahs aren't supposed to die like that.
  But Jesus endured it all out of love.  He endured the pain and the shame and the separation from God so that sin could be beaten.  He wasn't the Messiah many expected, but his mission was larger than they thought -- Jesus didn't come to conquer Rome.  Jesus came to fight something far bigger and more powerful than the Roman army.  Jesus did something that transcended the limitations of time and space, so that his death then has a direct impact on your life today and your eternal future.  The temporary pain has a lasting impact -- the salvation made available to all through Christ.