Wednesday: The Crucified God
Death by crucifixion was one of the harshest punishments the Romans meted out to anyone. It was considered the worst way to die. Thus, how horrific for anyone to be killed that way, in particular the Son of God! Jesus, we must always remember, came in human flesh like ours. Between the beatings, the scourgings, the nails hammered into His hands and feet, the harrowing weight of His own body tearing at the wounds, the physical pain must have been unbearable. This was harsh, even for the worst of criminals; how unfair, then, that Jesus, innocent of everything, should face such a fate.
Image © Rolf Jansson at Goodsalt.com
Yet, as we know, Christ’s physical sufferings were mild in contrast to what was really happening. This was more than just the killing of an innocent man.
What events surrounding the death of Jesus showed that more was going on than most people there understood at the time? What significance can we find in each of these events that can help reveal what happened there?
Clearly, something much more was happening here than just the death, however unfair, of an innocent man. According to Scripture, God’s wrath against sin, our sin, was poured out upon Jesus. Jesus on the cross suffered a righteous God’s righteous indignation against sin, the sins of the whole world. As such, Jesus suffered something deeper, darker, and more painful than any human being could ever know or experience.
| As you go through whatever struggles you are facing, what hope and comfort can you draw from the reality of Christ suffering for you on the cross? |
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The passion week from looking at the crucible of Christ is very emotional and especially todays lesson. Christ said when I be lifted up I will draw all men to Me. He certainly has me drawn to Him.
When Christ ministry started, John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, now at the close of His ministry that is certainly true. He bore them for us, a sobering thought, quite emotional. I shall not forget the Desire of Ages stating how we are to be saved.
The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God." Psalm 40:8. Desire of Ages pg 175.5
In the light of the cross
The power of the cross of Christ!
To God be the glory of the great things He has done for us, out of love.
Christ said if I be lifted up I will draw all men to Me. He was lifted up on the cross and died for us. The light from the cross draws us to Him, and if we don't resist the drawing we will ask for forgiveness and repent of our sin. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in us. We have comfort because now in Christ Jesus, even though we were once a far off we have been brought near by the Blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13.
What a powerful reminder that we do not have to carry our sins but lay them at the foot of the cross and be victorious, knowing that Jesus paid it all for me. I am free in Christ Jesus, my Saviour.
We will never go through such a suffering! Jesus carried the guilt of the whole world on Himself! Just because He is Love! Thank you Jesus! I owe you everything!
This lesson is a wonderful reminder of our debt to our Saviour Jesus Christ. To think of the cross and all the experiences surrounding it, really moves me. I am encouraged to bear my cross, whatever it is, at any given time, knowing that my Saviour understands what I am going through and He is there helping me- not asleep or unconcerned— throughout my crucibles.
Thank you Jesus for the persevering even when things got unbearable.
On another note: what has happened to Maurice Ashton?
I look forward to reading his thoughts on the day’s lesson. So I miss him when he is not doing that here.
I pray that all is well with him and his family.
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Sandra, Maurice's father-in-law passed away recently at 97 years old. They didn't live nearby. He mentioned that that leaves his mother-in-law who needs care. I'm thinking that she is being moved closer to where he and his wife reside. He has another crucible to attend with. Let's remember them in our prayers.
Thanks for this update. I will pray for him and his family that God will strengthen them and bring them through this , to the honor and glory of His name.
Thanks for this information. I have been wondering why his silence. May the Lord give them fortitude to bear this loss and give them comfort. Resurrection day is sure. Mr. Maurice, please accept our sympathy.
A very important fact regarding Christ's death on the cross is this: the death that Christ died on the cross was 'the second death'. That was a death with no hope whatsoever of anything beyond the grave.
The fact is that it was not the cross or even the sufferings of scourging, crown of thorns, and beatings that killed Jesus. It was "the sins of the entire world," our sins, yours and mine, that killed Jesus. Jesus started bleeding for this at the Garden of Gethsemane---it was not sweat that came from His forehead there it was "blood," the blood from the death for our sins. Jesus was already dead from sin when the soldiers came to break His legs or when the spear pierced His Heart.
I had similar thoughts. As a girl growing up I had a picture of how sin was laid upon Christ. It had to be on His shoulders or some physical place. As I've grown older and had some understanding of mental illness in children and adults, I have a different view. It is a fearful thing to have one's mind tormented and distorted. Just reading the dreams and visions of the mentally ill might give a clue as to what it is like to have something horrible inside one's own mind.
Sometimes in an attempt to comfort, a person might say, Oh now, rest easy...your problems are all in your head (mind)! Well! That is the worse place they can be! Although I still have questions, of this I am sure: What Jesus did, experienced is FAR beyond that which I could do for myself (in fact, impossible) and I will be eternally grateful for His salvation.
Yes, with Jesus’ act of choosing His response to be total surrender in humility to the persecution by man, He set the precedence that, in our surrender to the unfathomable love, wisdom, and knowledge of our heavenly Father, though we die, yet will we live. He suffered death by the hands of those who refused to hear the voice of God calling them, to hear Him and live according to His Will.
Luke 13:24-35 – records Jesus exclaiming: verse 34”O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wins, and ye would not.”
Though His voice had been with the people for a long time, yet, when the Son of God came in the flesh, the many people still would or could not hear His voice. Again, instead of believing in Him, they killed their prophet and king, not understanding that in Jesus they also crucified the Son of God.
Being rejected by others is part of human life. When being rejected because we believe and live according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this then will become an experience in the crucible of faith. Do we remain strong enough to live and act according the Will of God, or do we surrender our faith and deny the Lord and Savior through compromise? We have not experienced persecution for our faith in this country, but others have; may our faith remain strong!
Man is not sin. And neither was the persecution of man that killed Jesus. Sin killed Jesus. your sin and my sin. Only God in human flesh could die for my sin and your sin and "all the sin of humanity." Even if the spiritual leadership of Jesus' day had accepted Him for who He was and is He still would have taken the place of "The Lord's Goat and the Bullock," at the Day of Atonement feast and bled for sin at the altar of sacrifice for the worlds' sin. That was and is the only way that we humans can have eternal life with our creator.