23 March, 2008 The tomb is empty.
It was God’s will that he be crucified to pay the penalty for our transgressions and iniquities. They lowered him from the cross on which he died, wrapped him in burial robes, and threw him in a tomb in time to participate in the Passover. Night turned to day, day to night, night to day. Some of his followers came dejected to dress him for burial in a manner more befitting a man of his stature than the common criminal he was treated as so few days before. He was not there. The stone had rolled away.
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” - 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
Christ’s resurrection was a key necessity in our salvation. Had he died and not risen, he could not justify his claim to hold the power over life and death. We would still be in our sins, for he would not be the perfect sacrifice he said he was, and that the prophets beforehand prophesied would come. For it is through Christ’s death and resurrection that our old natures are put to death and we are raised to new life in him. Through his death we have confidence as those whom God has called that we are justified in his sight. In his resurrection we are brought back to life from the death we died with Adam.
Having therefore died with Him to sin, let us live for Him in service and to His glory. Because the tomb is empty.Continue Reading >>
Posted in: Devotions, Thoughts
21 March, 2008 “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” - Isaiah 53:1-4
A man of humble origins, from the back-blocks of the far-flung rural outpost of an empire, starts a speaking tour. A carpenter by trade, he rises to some prominence before being crucified by the authorities. Small footnote in the history of the region, possibly? A man of no form or majesty that we would look upon him and see him for who he was. Yet God works in mysterious ways.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” - Isaiah 53:5
We cannot save ourselves, we cannot make ourselves right with God. So God the Father sent his Son to pay the penalty for our sins. For our transgressions he was wounded, for our sins he was crushed. He bore the chastisement that brought us to be at peace with God. What a wonderful gift to give – one's life for the life of others. Nailed to a cross to redeem his chosen from the helpless race of Adam. A man of humble origins, the saviour and redeemer of God's elect. A man of no form or majesty that we should behold him proves to be the greatest man in history.
It is easy to read these words and view them in the abstract. How great God is, how wonderful a thing to do! But these words are far more than mere words recited at a time of year, or a doctrine to write in chapter of a theological textbook. These words are more than a prophecy, they are words of great comfort. They should be words that every Christian bears close to their heart. Personalise it:
He was wounded for my transgressions, he was crushed for my sins: upon him was the chastisement that brought me peace with God; and by his stripes I am healed. Because of my failure to meet God's standard of righteousness and holiness, he was wounded and crushed for me. He was chastised and mocked, belittled so that I might be at peace with my God. His stripes heal mine.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” - Isaiah 53:6-12
It was God's will to crush him, for him to bear our iniquities. He is the perfect, complete atoning sacrifice for our sins. By his suffering God is satisfied of the penalty of our sin; by his death he paid the penalty for the wages of our sin (our death). He bore the sins of many, and made intercession for us with God. By the suffering of one who should not have suffered, many are given mercy in place of deserving judgment. By Jesus' death on the cross, I find mercy from my God and my King when all I deserve is everlasting damnation. Thank you, my Lord.
Hallelujah! Glory alone to God for this thing He has wrought!Continue Reading >>
Posted in: Devotions, Thoughts
22 August, 2007 “The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:
That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.” - Joshua 20:1-3
Some people view the Old and New Testament as two sides of a coin, insofar as God in the Old Testament is seen as a stern, jealous disciplinarian while the New Testament paints a picture of a God of love and forgiveness. This view could not be more mistaken. One of many examples of this can be found in God's instructions to the Israelites to designate Cities of Refuge amongst the possessions of the Twelve Tribes.
Under the legal system imposed by God on the Israelites, the penalty for killing another person was that of death (as in 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth' style justice that is so haughtily dismissed today). Such is a just punishment as defined by the issuer of laws (though the killer and relatives may disagree). Yet even the stern, jealous disciplinarian that some love to paint saw fit to provide mercy when circumstances asked for it. As we read in the above passage, those who killed by accident and without prior malice were able to seek sanctuary in a City of Refuge to escape the just punishment that would no doubt be meted out by the relatives of the slain person. Continue Reading >>
Posted in: Devotions, Theology
