With The Wicked

And they made His grave with the wicked, but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. 

Isaiah 53:9 

Christ died among criminals and received treatment reserved for evil-doers. Thus, ‘they made His grave with the wicked.’ The Romans were masters of cruelty. The methods they used against anyone who they chose to execute accomplished not only the excruciating death of the person, but also served as a gruesome object lesson for everyone who witnessed it. This would have helped discourage misbehavior from others who wanted to avoid the same fate. In the case of Christ, it was a fulfillment of prophecy. Paul makes reference to it in Galatians when he says, ‘Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become accursed for us, (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree).’ He goes on to expound the result of that cursed activity in the next verse when he explains, ‘that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.’ When Christ’s executioners ‘made His grave with the wicked,’ by crucifying Him between two thieves, they were fulfilling the larger purpose of God. Christ was enduring the depths of evil treatment in order to accomplish His grand work of redemption. Thus we have every reason to magnify Him Who went to such lengths to accomplish so much.  

Our Good and Gracious Savior, 
we rejoice that You were willing to endure such suffering for us. 
We praise You that by Your stripes we are healed. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning