UNIONISTS

  • Home
  • Thoughts
  • Sounds
  • Sights
  • Gatherings
  • Evidence
    • From the Word
    • From Outside Sources
    • From Our Readers
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Thoughts
  • Sounds
  • Sights
  • Gatherings
  • Evidence
    • From the Word
    • From Outside Sources
    • From Our Readers
  • Contact

The Cross

4/3/2015

0 Comments

 
Luke's Cross narrative, with some thoughts:

The people stood and stared while their rulers continued to scoff, saying, “He saved other people, let’s see him save himself, if he is really God’s Christ — his chosen!” Their irony is itself ironic. He was the Chosen One of His Father, but He was chosen for this: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53).

The soldiers also mocked him by coming up and presenting sour wine to him, saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, why not save yourself?” For there was a placard over his head which read, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Then plays out the great drama of the thieves on either side of Him; the whole picture of humanity since that day, two thousand years ago. This is the reality of the human race: Our sin earns a death; all humanity is bound by death, just as these criminal were. Their two reactions to Him – rejection and acceptance – are the only two reactions available to every human who’s lived since. The drama of the thieves is our drama…

One of the criminals hanging there covered him with abuse, and said, “Aren’t you Christ? Why don’t you save yourself—and us?” But the other one checked him with the words, “Aren’t you afraid of God even when you’re getting the same punishment as he is? And it’s fair enough for us, for we’ve only got what we deserve, but this man never did anything wrong in his life.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This thief is the clearest-eyed believer who ever lived. Because, while seeing Jesus in the midst of His sufferings, this man looked upon His broken face and saw the whole Kingdom! I’ve heard many people talk about the theology of this man’s salvation (“How is he redeemed?”; “What the meaning of paradise’ here?” etc), but I’ll say this in response: Our arm-chair theologies are absolutely nothing next to the suffering-Jesus this man saw! And this criminal, looking at this dying man, saw Life Abundant, and even chose to call Jesus by His first name! It’s so wonderfully personal and poignantly beautiful! Some day, in Glory, we will smile to meet this man!

And Jesus answered, “I tell you truly, this day you will be with me in paradise.” This is what we have in Jesus and nothing less! Is that your personal experience of Him, right now? Are you in Paradise? If not, you don’t understand what you have in Jesus! Your circumstances and trials are nothing beside His goodness!

It was now about midday, but darkness came over the whole countryside until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. It’s already been a scene of intense emotion, the women and some disciples watching in anguish, and then full darkness covers the land. All in the crowd look skyward in wonder… The veil in the Temple sanctuary was split in two. Boy, does Luke undersell this moment! The image of Heavenly Hands reaching down and tearing the curtain from top to bottom is absolutely everything for us who believe! Until that moment, here was our standing in God’s sight: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and you sins have hid his face from you…” (Is. 59) 

But, in the moment of that tearing, we don’t just gain access to the Holy of Holies forever, the Spirit of God is out and about now in the “temple” of our bodies! The Holy of Holies is available, now, everyday: “So by virtue of the blood of Jesus, you and I, my brothers, may now have courage to enter the holy of holies by way of the one who died and is yet alive, who has made for us a holy means of entry by himself passing through the curtain, that is, his own human nature. Further, since we have a great High Priest set over the household of God, let us draw near with true hearts and fullest confidence, knowing that our inmost souls have been purified by the sprinkling of his blood just as our bodies are cleansed by the washing of clean water. In this confidence let us hold on to the hope that we profess without the slightest hesitation—for he is utterly dependable…” (Heb. 10)

Then Jesus gave a great cry and said, “Father, ‘into your hands I commend my spirit.’” And with these words, he died. And, in dying, put to death our sin! He accomplished everything of the following: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2); “He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Heb. 9); “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 J. 2); “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5); “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5); “Who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Tim. 2); “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9); “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” (Eph. 2)

Oh, may the goodness of this "Good Friday" be the truest thing about us tomorrow, too! May we be forever marked by the costliness of the New Life we enjoy in Jesus!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Themes

    All
    Abiding
    At The Right Hand...
    The Cross
    The Father
    The Holy Spirit
    The Incarnation
    The Inheritance
    The Resurrection
    The Son
    The Way
    The Work Of The Gospel
    Unity In The Body
    Worship

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.