#redemption

Jesus On The Cross

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“Father, forgive them”  ~Luke 23:34

Have you ever been falsely accused?; ever been fired because of false accusations?; lost a romance based on lies told about you?; have you gone to jail because of false evidence?; or have you been sentenced to death based on lies and false accusations?

Jesus has!

Jesus, the only perfect man, is praying on the Mount of Olives, preparing for the horrific next steps essential for our (all people in the world) forgiveness. He understands more vividly than anyone could that he is about to be sentenced to death, mercilessly beaten, nailed to a criminal’s cross and killed. So our sins could be forgiven!

“Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not mine.” Luke 22:42 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened Him. He prayed more fervently, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

Shortly after this, a crowd (chief priests, officers of the temple guard, and the elders), led by Judas the betrayer, appeared. A moment’s pause  and then Judas greeted Jesus with a traitorous kiss. “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man* with a kiss?”

In the jostle that followed, one of Jesus’ disciples whacked the ear off the high priest’s slave. Ever the peacemaker, Jesus touched the man’s ear and healed him. I’m sure that man shared this moment with anyone who would listen for the remainder of his life!

So they arrested Him and led Him to the high priest’s home. The guards in charge of Jesus began mocking and beating Him. They blindfolded Him and said, “Prophesy to us! Who hit you that time?” And they hurled all sorts of terrible insults at Him. 

Jesus was led before the high council and they said, “Tell us, are you the Messiah?” He replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me. . .But from now on the Son of Man will be seated in the place of power at God’s right hand.”

After much debating between Pilate and Herod, Pilate tried to have Jesus flogged and released but with a mighty roar, the crowd demanded, “Kill Him and release Barabbas to us. Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded. Try to imagine yourself in this position, knowing you are totally innocent. All the accusations are false and all hope of rescue is fading away, you are going to be killed soon!

A few simple words describe the excruciatingly painful experience that followed: “Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with Him. When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed Him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified— one on His right and one on His left. Amazingly, Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” ~Luke 23:34

As the three men hung grotesquely on their crosses, slowly and painfully dying, one mocked the Lord but the other, sensing something special about Him said, “We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into your Kingdom.”

And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Remember, these men are not sitting around a campfire chatting, they are experiencing agonizing death, nails driven through their hands and feet as they suffocate.

Now, imagine we are watching this in a movie and after Jesus speaks to the criminal the camera zooms in for a close up of His face. Jesus lifts His head as we look into His eyes and He painfully speaks, “I am doing this for you.”

“For God loved the world so  much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to be its Judge, but to be its Savior.”

*(in the Gospels, Son of Man is the title Jesus used most often when referring to Himself. He said it instead of “me” or “I.” Son of Man is used 30 times in the Gospel of Matthew.) 

Law or Grace?

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“We will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” ~Acts:15:11

            Law or grace? Now that we have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, don’t we still have to try living by the Law? Can we simply turn our backs on what God gave His people through Moses? I hear Christians refer to meeting on the Sabbath, meaning Sunday; or for some, Saturday. Which is proper and what does God expect from Christians today?

            Faith in Jesus Christ brings righteousness (apart from the law) to all who believe! ALL!

(Romans 3:19-26)   “The law commands many things. We know that those commands are for those who are under the law. This stops all excuses and brings the whole world under God’s judgment, because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin.

But God has a way to make people right with him without the law. And God has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all are the same. 

All people have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory. People are made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith. And all of this is because of the blood of Jesus’ death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair. God was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. And God gave Jesus to show today that God does what is right. God did this so that he could judge rightly and also make right any person who has faith in Jesus.”

                      Realizing how difficult it is for Jews, who have been taught that following The Law is essential, Paul uses strong language to explain that faith in Christ is what justifies everyone…Jew and Gentile.

(Gal. 2:15-16)   “You (Paul) and I are Jews by birth, not sinners like the Gentiles. Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”

            One of the most powerful explanations of the difference between law and grace is verse twenty-one:

(Gal. 2:21)  “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.”

            Beginning chapter three, Paul slaps the Galatians in the face with this powerful point:

(Gal. 3:1-4)  “Foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?”

            Pounding the message home further, Paul’s fervent love and concern for the Galatians continues in verse 5, “I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.”

            A scribe asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Mark 12:28

            (Mark 12:29-31)  Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”

            In the Gospel of John, Jesus emphasizes the importance of love as a command:

(John 14:15; 15:9-14, 17)  “If you love me, you will obey what I command…As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love…This is my command: Love each other.”

“Love each other.” Sounds easy, especially when we are not frustrated with each other; when all is going well; when we are in agreement; when we’re not stuck in traffic in the pouring rain and the gas gauge is hovering over empty! God’s example of love is the innocent Jesus dying on the cross. Love is sacrifice

Hosanna!

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“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”  ~Mark 11:10

He was murdered! First horribly beaten. Then forced to carry his own cross to Golgatha for his crucifixion. And then, instead of shouting something mighty and springing off the cross— He died! They saw him die. Their minds swam with confusion. How could it be? He said he was the Messiah. He performed many miracles and taught with power.

He was known as a carpenter’s son but he claimed to be God— the Messiah! He caused trouble wherever he spoke and he spoke to thousands of people desperate for the truth, for hope.

“So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with [the father whose daughter had died]. Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.”  ~Matt. 9:19-22

He infuriated the religious leaders who plotted to kill him. Yes, their solution was to kill the King of Glory! After all, he was a heretic according to them. They refused to believe his claims of being the living Messiah, torn from the pages of their sacred texts. God would not appear as an ordinary man, born to poor people in a small village. And what about the outrageous idea of the virgin birth? Heresy!

When speaking to his own disciples, he said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” ~John 14:6. More than 2,000 years later, as we read this statement from the Book of John, we easily understand what Jesus meant. And yet, his followers, his closest brethren, were still confused.

Although His arrest and death upon the cross was imminent, victory was just around the corner for his followers and for us. “For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

Some people wonder how the Jews and Romans were able to kill Jesus if he is who he says he is. Jesus addresses that as follows:  “No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” ~John 10:18

Jesus was and is, the sinless one who died in our place. He paid the penalty for all our sins. Faith in Christ cleanses our souls and transforms us into new creations, fully acceptable to face our Heavenly Father. But that’s not all, is it. No. There is one more step in this incredible process of redemption and victory over sin and death.

“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” ~1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday as some churches now name it, celebrates Jesus’ transformation from death to life. He was dead. Oh yes He was. Wrapped in grave clothes, sealed in a tomb. But death could not hold the Savior. Our Redeemer rose from the dead on the third day, according to God’s perfect plan!

“Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.” ~Matthew 28:1-7

So you see, Easter Sunday is a celebration of the cornerstone of our faith the lynchpin of our eternal forgiveness. Right this moment, Jesus is alive, at the right hand of God, pleading for us in accordance with God’s perfect plan. “But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. . .For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy (all believers in Christ). ~Hebrews 10:12-14

Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22

He Lives!

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“Father! In your hands I place my spirit!” ~ Luke 23:46

He knew before it happened. He and His Father were the only ones who did know. The knowledge brought great agony for Jesus, the perfect man, the Lamb led to slaughter. In the garden before he was arrested, he agonized over his obedience to the horrible, tortuous truth about to unfold. But even more unthinkable to Jesus was his brief separation from The Father…that terrible moment when He would become sin for the whole world. Was there any other way to accomplish what had to be done?

Then He went off from them about the distance of a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed. “Father,” He said, “if you will, take this cup of suffering away from me” (there must have been a long pause as the man Jesus waited for a reply different from what He knew to be God’s will). “Not my will however, but your will be done. Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened him. In great anguish He prayed even more fervently; His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”  (Luke 22:41-44)

And then, in a tumultuous swirl, he was arrested, questioned, horribly beaten, convicted, condemned to death, mocked, hated, spat upon, forced to drag his own cross up crude roads, experienced excruciating pain of nails driven through his hands and feet, abruptly attached to the cross as the taunting continued…and then, amazingly, forgave the very people who did this to Him as life was passing from his body.  

Suddenly God blackened the brightness of the mid-day sun for three hours! At the same time, the huge curtain hanging in the temple was torn in two (from top to bottom) Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father in your hands I place my spirit.” He said this and died. (Luke 22:44-46)

A man named Joseph from Arimathea, who was waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God, arranged to have the body of Jesus removed from the cross, wrapped in linen and placed in a tomb which had been dug out of solid rock and never been used. It was Friday and the Sabbath was about to begin.

“Very early on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James arrived at the tomb of Jesus to apply the spices and perfumes to his body. They found the stone rolled away and did not find the body of Jesus in the tomb. Suddenly, two men in bright shining robes appeared and the women bowed down to the ground.

“Why are you looking among the dead for One who is alive? He is not here; He has been raised. Remember what He said to you while He was in Galilee: The Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, be crucified, and three days later rise to life.”

“Then the women remembered His words, returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven disciples and all the rest.” (Luke 24:1-9)

The impossible happened, Jesus was dead and is now alive. Just as the Bible predicted, He was resurrected from the dead. His sacrificial death, the blood of the Lamb of God, provides eternal life and forgiveness of sins to all who believe.  

Perhaps you are more hesitant to believe such a story, perhaps you are like the apostle Thomas who proclaimed, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25)

A week later, Jesus appeared to Thomas and said, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop your doubting and believe.” Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27-28)

Now what? What is Jesus doing now, after His majestic resurrection? The answer is found in Hebrews 1:1-3 “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.”

“Who then will condemn us? Will Christ? No! For he is the one who died for us and came back to life again for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us there in heaven.” (Romans 8:34-35)