While considering the concept of prayer, communication with Jehovah, the thought arose that such communication requires an understanding of the Person with whom we are speaking. There are a lot of people who believe a lot of things who all try and squeeze underneath the umbrella of Christianity. Unfortunately, even many of those who are sincere, born-again believers can be severely unsure and even wrong about the nature and character of our God. Who is He? How does He relate to us as His children?
I do not propose to have all the answers. The fact is, though, that He left us with both His Word and the Holy Spirit. If we truly believe, as we should, that God is imminent, personal, and loving, it must follow that we can (and should) strive to know Him.
In John 17:3, Jesus is recorded as saying, "Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only True God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Not only is knowing God possible, but it is imperative after salvation, because of justification, throughout our sanctification, and ultimately as the basis of our glorification.
At the very core of our faith is the action taken by God incarnate, our Savior, Jesus Christ. The story of the death, burial, and resurrection is one that is known, albeit in varying detail and with assignment of differing levels of importance, by Christians and non-Christians alike. For us, as Christians, it is absolutely key to really knowing the God we serve.
We must regularly ask ourselves: "Is what I know about what Christ did for me, and what it reveals about who He is and who I am in His eyes, accurate and complete?"
Take a look at the following verses before I continue ...
Luke 22:14-22, 39-46, 63-65, & 23:35-39.
These are nothing you haven't read before. You have sat and listened to sermons based on some of them around Easter. Really read them though. Put yourself there. Smell the smells, hear the sounds, experience it.
Roman crucifixion was no joke.
There's a Latin word that's pretty common in our language today that is derived from the Roman method of crucifixion. The word is "excruciating". Literally translated, it means "out of the cross," and is defined in our modern lexicon with words such as "torturous," "agonizing," "severely mentally and physically painful." If you have watched the Mel Gibson film, The Passion of the Christ, you've seen a representation of crucifixion, but even that pales in comparison to reality. One non-Christian historian described Roman crucifixion as a process that included being whipped until "filleted to the bone," and until "intestines are exposed."
There is little (if anything) imaginable that would qualify as a more horrific way to die.
We often see crucifixes and other depictions of Christ's crucifixion showing a handsome, tired-looking man with a few drops of blood dripping from a benign twist of vines placed upon His head. He may or may not have small puncture-wounds in His palms and feet, and a scratch on His side. The gruesome truth is that when all was said and done, the crucified were completely unrecognizable ... even to friends and family.
We can accept this as truth, right? We know that Jesus suffered tremendously for us. We know that He was killed in a brutal manner.
One question. Why? Why did He go through this for me?
The answers are numerous ... many valid and true. He had to do it to fulfill the prophecies. He had to in order to save us from sin. He was born for that very purpose.
Perhaps the most simple answer to the simple question is ... because He CHOSE to.
Did you read and understand what I just said?
HE CHOSE TO.
We know that this is not the first time that the authorities tried to eliminate Jesus. When He was born, the Magi were instructed by Herod to return and report the baby's whereabouts. He said that he wanted to worship Him, but we know that he had something more sinister in mind (Mat. 2:7-8). That plan was foiled. Not long after that, Herod ordered that all boys in Bethlehem were to be killed (Mat. 2:16). Again, the attempt was unsuccessful. Right off the bat, we can see that there was a bounty on Jesus' head. How in the world did He make it 33 years?!
John 7:30 and then again in John 8:20, we are told that the authorities "tried" to seize Jesus, "but no one laid a hand on Him." John 8:59 says, "They picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself, slipping away from the temple grounds." John 10:31-39 says, "again the Jews picked up stones to stone Him, but He escaped their grasp." Does it make reasonable sense that a man in a crowd of people who wanted to stone Him could just "slip away," or escape? There had to have been a supernatural reason. The fact is, the Bible says it, that it simply was not yet His time. He had every capability to keep Himself alive.
Now look at the account of the last supper. It says that Jesus handed bread to the disciples, and as soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered him. Immediately, Jesus turned to Judas and said, "What you are about to do, do quickly," and Judas left. Couldn't Jesus have gotten up from the table and escaped Jerusalem? Of course He could have. So why didn't He?
I mentioned earlier that we need to make sure that what we understand about the basis of our faith is accurate. A lot of answers can be given about why it is that Jesus was killed as He was. It is absolute truth that He didn't have to. He chose to.
Jesus said to Pilate in John 19:11, "You would have no power over Me if it were not given to you from above." He said of His life in John 10:18, "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again." In Matthew 26:53, addressing Peter after he had drawn his sword and cut off the guard's ear, He said, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?"
What is my point?
My point is simple. ARE WE THANKFUL? Are we truly thankful for what Jesus CHOSE to go through, or do we forget?
Do you really get the truth of the fact that He chose to be mocked, ridiculed, spit upon, His beard ripped from His face, beaten beyond recognition ... because He loves YOU?
I find myself going through life wearing my Christianity like a cross around my neck or like a bumper sticker on my car ... talking a good game ... reading and reacting to the Bible like it's little more than a mediocre work of fiction ... chewing up a little piece of bread and swallowing some juice like a good Baptist ... completely absent of any true acknowledgment of the flesh and blood that it represents. And completely forgetting about the man who is so in love with me that He voluntarily gave His life in the most vicious and inhumane way possible.
God forgive me.
Forgive me for not waking up every morning in complete awe of You.
Forgive me for not staying in a constant state of communication with You throughout my day.
Forgive me for not using every word, every thought, and every action to thank You for Your sacrifice.
Forgive me for treating you like an insurance policy that covers my sin and ensures my future, but for not intimately loving You as You desire.
This is a call to repentance.
If this doesn't speak to you, fine. Good.
If it does, do something about it.
