Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

The punishment that brought us peace was laid him (Isaiah 53:5).

When you think of the Dutch painter Rembrandt, you think of an artist who cared greatly about the quality of his work. But Rembrandt had another passion too—he was passionate about his Christianity. Rembrandt was deeply concerned about his relationship with Jesus; he was also concerned about those who did not know Jesus or rejected Him as their Lord.

These two passions—for Christianity and for great art—came together in Rembrandt’s painting of Jesus on the cross. The artist showed Jesus writhing in agony, as the Son of God suffered His Father’s terrible punishment for our sins. The artist also took care to show the faces of the onlookers—people who each reacted to Jesus’ torment in different ways. But there is one important detail that a casual observer might not notice. At the edge of the crowd, standing in the shadows, is Rembrandt himself. The artist placed himself in the crowd that was present as Jesus died.

Why did the Dutch painter do this? He was making a confession—like everyone else in the painting, he was responsible for the Savior’s death. Jesus died not suffer and die because He had it coming—far from it. Jesus was holy. Jesus lived a perfect life. He always did what was right, in spite of pressure to ‘just go with the flow’. He always spoke the truth, even when the truth was unpopular. Jesus led the kind of life that God expects from every human being. He did it for us, because He knew that we cannot. He knew that we want to do the easy thing instead of the right thing. He knows that we are more apt to lie and dance around the facts than simply speak the truth. So Jesus gave His life in place of ours. He lived perfectly in our stead, and He died the shameful death that our sins deserve.

Rembrandt understood this. He knew that his sins were directly responsible for everything awful that happened to Jesus. That’s why he painted himself at the cross; it was his admission of guilt. You and I are equally responsible for Jesus’ death. Our sins made His suffering necessary, because Jesus loves you and me too much to let us be lost to hell. So honor His time on the cross by thanking Him for His great mercy; honor His sacrifice by asking Him to guide you in His ways.