An Insult to Christ Jesus

Are you attempting to live as a Christian without being one? Millions of people admire the teaching of Jesus that elevates human dignity, that calls for compassion for the poor and the weak. But, at the same time they reject the Cross. “Why did Jesus need to die?” they ask. Some are even arrogant enough to believe that Jesus died as a result of political miscalculation, that he over-estimated his public support as he confronted the religious establishment. Others think that the whole narrative of the Cross was an invention of his disciples to make sense of the end of his life. What nonsense!

The Cross makes it possible for us to live the teaching of Jesus. His mission was to be our Savior first. Many other world religions are built around great teachers but none, to my knowledge, offers us a Savior, a Deliverer! At the Cross, He entered fully into our broken, fallen state that separated us from our Father. His death, far from being sad, is the heart of the Good News. The Word does not merely hint at this. It pronounces it loudly and clearly! "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault." (Colossians 1:19-22, NLT)
Without the Cross, Christianity is just another world religion, an ideal to which we may hopelessly aspire! But, because of the Cross, Christianity is a way of life available to all who will believe the Truth, be reconciled to God, and receive the gift of the Spirit. To mistakenly reject the Cross because it is ‘too ugly,’ or ‘too superstitious,’ is an insult to Christ Jesus. The Cross was not an after-thought or mistake. It was His destiny, the crowning achievement of His earthly ministry. Timothy Keller reminds us that unlike other deities who allegedly extracted vengeance at great cost to humans, the true God “becomes human and offers His own lifeblood to order to honor moral justice and merciful love so that someday He can destroy all evil without destroying us. Therefore, the Cross is not simply a lovely example of sacrificial love. …There was debt to be paid – God paid it Himself.” (The Reason for God)

Far from being a maudlin medieval idea, the Cross is a glorious Truth! It is full of ugliness because it is where sin meets forgiveness. It is full of sorrow for it is where the disappointments of the Fallen creation meet the perfection of the Creator. It is bloody because in the purpose of God, as Jesus Christ explained, "my blood, … confirms the covenant between God and his people." (Matthew 26:28, NLT)
So, I will not insult the Lord Jesus by looking away from the Cross. Instead, I will wear it, love it, and embrace it.

Here’s a word from the Word. May we join Paul in his intention. "As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God." (Galatians 6:14-16, NLT)
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Your blood speaks a better word
than all the empty claims I've heard upon this earth;
Speaks righteousness for me
and stands in my defense,
Jesus, it's Your blood.

Your cross testifies in grace,
tells of the Father's heart
to make a way for us;
Now boldly we approach,
not earthly confidence,
it's only by Your blood!

What can wash away our sins?
What can make us whole again?
Nothing but the blood,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can wash us pure as snow,
welcomed as the friends of God?
Nothing but Your blood,
Nothing but Your blood,
King Jesus!

Nothing But The Blood

© 2004 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Matt Redman

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