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Monday, March 29, 2010

LOOKING DOWN FROM THE CROSS

    By the time Jesus was nailed to the cross, there was very little left of Him physically. A Roman soldier had just lashed and shredded His back. Most men die from this alone, either from the loss of blood, or the pure shock of unbearable pain. Plus, when Jesus  endured the scourging, He had been without food, water, or sleep for nearly 24 hours.
    Then, a roughly cut wooden cross weighing about 200 pounds was dropped on what was left of His shoulders and He was forced to carry it most of the way to Calvary.
    No way can I agree with the artists who portray Jesus as a frail, insipid, effeminate-type person. Contemplating what this carpenter from Nazareth had to endure, He would have had to have been a man of awesome physical strength or He would've been dead long before Calvary.
    After reaching the hill called "Calvary," the cross was laid on the ground and without sympathy Jesus was stretched out on it -- the splintery wood digging into His lacerated back. His hands and feet were nailed to the wood. The cross was lifted up and dropped into a hole, and the people just stood back to watch Him die.
    Ever wonder what thoughts were going through His mind as He hung there looking at the crowd and hearing them cast insults at Him? Jerusalem off in the distance, a handful of terrified disciples, and of course, He could see Mary, the woman who had given Him birth.  Jesus knew that not even great men like Noah, Abraham, Jeremiah, Elijah, king David, and yes, even this godly woman He called "Mother," could go to heaven unless He bear His Cross.  Perhaps also, it passed through His mind the godly souls of all generations who would love Him and be saved because of what He was then going through, and such thoughts gave Him a little strength.
    It's somewhat amazing to me that Jesus asked His disciple John to care for His mother rather than His own physical brothers. We know that Mary had at least four other sons (Matt. 13:55), but with Jesus, spiritual blood-lines transcends physical blood-lines. Jesus had said earlier, "Whosoever does the will of My Father in Heaven is My brother, sister, and mother (Matt. 12:50). Jesus put more trust in one of His disciples than He did His own physical brothers.
    Looking down from the Cross, and having a full understanding of the total power at His disposal, rather than call on the angels for vengeance, Jesus simply said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34). It was necessary to say this to demonstrate a willingness to forgive His enemies and to set an example for us. However, we know that God the Father did not forgive them because we read in Acts 2 they were guilty and had to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.
    Now think about this: In Acts 2, people who believed, repented and were baptized were forgiven of this sin of crucifying the Son of God!  That is, on the Cross, there took place something so great that it could even wash away the sins of those who murdered the Son of God. Do we understand this? NO. Do we accept it by faith? Yes! Don't ever think that you have sunk so low that God could never forgive you!
    Jesus said, "I thirst," and was offered wine mixed with gall. Gall was a pain killer, so Jesus refused. He would not give future generations the opportunity to say He didn't suffer to the fullest extent.
    Finally, Jesus said, "It is finished." This is the Greek perfect tense. The perfect tense means "completed action with ever continuing results." Jesus died ONCE. The result of His death is "ever continuing."  He then commits His soul to the safe-keeping of the Heavenly Father, just like you and I must do. The Spirit of Jesus is now locked in Hades, but only for three days. On the following Sunday morning, Jesus came out of the grave.
    "Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty victory over His foes,
    He arose a Victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign!"
    Hallelujah, Christ Arose!"
    You can share in this victory over death. Repent, be baptized, be faithful. God has reached out to you with His life, in order to make it possible for you to reach back to Him with yours (Romans 12:1-2).
                                                Stay Hungry - - Toby Miller


First Corinthians commentary:  Get the new First Corinthians commentary from www.abiblecommentary.com.  Preview the First Corinthians commentary through Google books at http://bit.ly/dfw86d.  Other Bible commentary material from www.abiblecommentary.com includes a FREE on-line Romans commentary:  http://bit.ly/3MRU5I  
 

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