The thing that blows my mind about Jesus is when I think about the uncertainty, the risks and the actions He took in real time. Why did his mom and dad flee to Egypt when He was very young? Because Herod was murdering little boys to kill off the Messiah that he heard was born. Any threat to his kingdom was to be taken out swiftly and viciously. Why couldn’t God in the flesh just snap His little baby fingers and command a legion of angels to dispatch of Herod’s men and even Herod himself? Why not?
That’s the problem, I think, with thinking out of balance or leaning too much on the deity of Christ angle. Yes, Jesus was fully God. John 8, 9 and 10 make that abundantly (and quite humorously) clear. But, He was also fully man. He emptied Himself of His deity. He laid it aside like a cloak. He put a self-imposed restriction on Himself. He walked around as a human. As a child, He was vulnerable. His body had to resist the same germs and viruses that randomly attacked other people in His day. It was humility in action.
Now, fast-forward to this very day in history. Jesus had to endure the sleep deprivation and the serious mockery (and injustice) of two trails, being dragged from place to place to see if He might be let go or given over to torture and death. He had to face the emotional trauma of a mob scene turned against Him. Add to that the abandonment by His friends and family. The hope of the resurrection might have given Him a measure of confidence to endure, but His pain was all in real time.
He had to die on the cross before He would raise to life and defeat the power of death. He had to pay the penalty for sin. He faced all of it. He drank the full cup. He asked His daddy if this cup could pass, but He uttered that one word that meant everything then, today and forevermore – NEVERTHELESS.
Nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done.
Today, let the focus be on the death. Let it get dark. Let it get sad. Let it crush your heart. Let it bring contrition and humility to your heart. We have the secret truth of the future (not so secret, because we share it with joy), but before that hope was fulfilled something else had to happen. Death.
I love that song, “The Wonderful Cross,” which states, “Oh, the wonderful cross, that bids me, ‘Come and die…'”
The Wonderful Cross
I notice lots of people prostrate on the ground as the song starts.
Gratitude. Respect. Humility. Honor. Wonder. Worship.
We can say, in 33 A.D., 50 A.D. and 2014 A.D., “Death, where is thy victory? Where is thy sting?” But on that day (let’s say it was somewhere in mid April back in 33), death’s sting was on the cross. The sting, though temporary, was in full effect. There was not shortcut on this cross. It completed its mission. It killed Him. This is pause for those six things.
Gratitude. Respect. Humility. Honor. Wonder. Worship.
Thank You, Jesus!
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