2018-08-10
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Context is king when studying the Scriptures. Jesus is in Jerusalem, having gone there with others to worship during Passover [JN 12: 20] after His triumphal entry complete with Palm leaves. It is before a crowd that Christ chooses to talk about His own coming death and its significance to us. “Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal” (25). This sets the scene in which our Lord reveals the significance of His own death to us, which we find in (27-33). “Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say, ‘Father, do not let this hour come upon Me? But that is why I came-so I might go through this hour of suffering to bring glory to Your name!’ Then, a voice spoke from heaven, ‘I have brought glory to it, and I will do so again.’ Some in the crowd thinks it was thunder, and others feel it is an angel speaking. Then Jesus says to the crowd, ‘It is not for My sake, but for yours that the Voice spoke. Now is the time for this world to be judged; now the ruler of this world (the devil) will be overthrown. When I am lifted- up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Me.’ In saying this, Christ indicates the kind of death He would suffer.”
In the passage above, we are presented with the larger picture of what would happen to our Lord, Jesus. From the beginning, I have written about the importance of thinking in eternal, rather than just earthly terms when deciding how we understand our lives and Christ’s great sacrifice for our salvation. We must look at what is the true purpose of Christ’s crucifixion and subsequent resurrection for our lives? In other words, why believe in and obey Christ? We already know that the law was given to let us know what pleases God and what doesn’t. However, our salvation [JN 3: 16], justification [RO 4: 3], and eternal forgiveness of sins [1 JN 1: 9] were not available until Christ’s Atonement was complete. Beforehand, we were doomed to suffer spiritual death, i.e. eternal and conscious torment from which there is no escape. Our loving Father cares so deeply for and about His human creation, that He couldn’t bear this awful fate happening to us. That is why He brought His Son, Jesus, to earth and ordered Him to be humiliated, put to death on the cross, and then resurrected. The loss of His physical life by our Lord Jesus opened the way for these great blessings for us and enables us to gain eternal life. The latter alternative fate for us is being brought to heaven [1 THESS 4: 13-17] for a sweet and everlasting fellowship with our Father and all those who have gained eternal life before us. As for the forgiveness of sin prior to Christ’s Atonement, it only lasted for 1 year [LV 16: 1-34; LV 23: 26-32].
Part of our understanding of our God’s real power comes with DN 4: 17. “This is the discussion of the alert and watchful angels. So then, let all people everywhere know that the Supreme God has power over human kingdoms and that He can give them to anyone He chooses -even to those who are least important.” This remarkable statement came as a part of Daniel’s explaining King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that prophesied the king would live like an animal for 7 years and then regain his kingdom of Babylon. Amazingly, he would come to praise to our God (34b-35)! Interestingly enough, the dream was a metaphor of a strong tree (Nebuchadnezzar), which is cut down leaving a stump banded in iron and bronze. These metals suggest restoration of control over other kingdoms (23b). Prior to this, in IS 11: 1, Christ is referred to as “the Branch from the stump of Jesse.” The prophecy of Christ’s Kingdom is made in Daniel’s interpretation of the king’s giant statue dream [DN 2: 34-35, 44-45] in which a stone comes loose and destroys the statue (representing earthly kingdoms) without anyone touching it is part of this dream. The stone grows and covers the whole earth is representative of Christ becoming the King over all. These truths give us a reason to think in terms of eternity.
Christ asks the crucial question above, in LK 22: 42, on the Mount of Olives, as His disciples are falling asleep. “Father, will take this cup of suffering away from Me? Not My will, however, but Your will be done.” An angel appeared and strengthened Him. As our Lord prayed, sweat in the form of blood dropped from Him. He knew the necessity of the coming Atonement. He was commanded to make. In 1 COR 15: 54-58 gives us a capsule explanation as to why we need to persist in our faithful obedience and the significance of Christ’s victory over death, which gets its power to hurt from sin. Read the prophecy of IS 25: 8 and see how it will come true! Praise and thanks be to Christ!
PRAYER: O Lord, You repeatedly tell us about Christ’s victory over evil. Anything You repeat must be important to You. Your love for us and unselfish sacrifice of Your Son on the cross is the greatest demonstration of Your loving heart. Long ago, in EZK 36: 26-27, You made a brash and courageous promise. You said, “I will give you and new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. I will put My Spirit in you and will see to it that you follow My laws and keep all the commandments I have given you.” Like all Your promises, You are keeping this one. We are grateful beyond words and offer You our heartfelt thanks and praise. What a loving and generous God You are! Every day of our lives, by means of Your Spirit, You enable us to think eternally and have faithful obedience to Christ’s teaching. You have given us Your word to study, and it gives us discernment and ability to know what pleases You and what is Your will. We ask for Your continuing intervention in our lives and guidance for our path. Help us to gain eternal life by making right decisions and taking actions which honor You. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded to continue giving support Scriptures and passages to the book of Colossians. Next week, I will discuss EPH 1: 19b-23. The contrast of my past life with my present one is stark. Before Christ made His presence known to me, I attended a traditionally Conservative Jewish shul every week. A gazed longingly at their choir, singing in Hebrew, wanting to get up the confidence to join it. But, I didn’t understand what they were singing. I was filled with self-loathing and guilt that had been carefully passed on to me by my parents. Whatever I did, it wasn’t good enough. From the age of 7 until 17, I had a mouth full of braces, walked with my toes pointing out, and felt useless. I didn’t believe God existed or cared about me. I was awkward as a teenager and emotionally immature. I knew that at age 15, I would no longer have to be in this place every week and couldn’t wait for that to happen. Fast forward ten years: Christ not only entered my life, but He gave me strong, obedient faith in Him. He was beginning to shower me with the blessing of great friends, enough confidence to sing in a church choir, and a winning, bandless smile. My toes still point out when I walk, but it no longer bothered me. Moreover, I had a reason for living, direction in my life, and no longer felt worthless. God was showing me His love! The missing link was having the Lord Jesus to direct me and eventually call me to His service in ministry. Who can ask for more inner peace than this? Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2018. All Rights Reserved.
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