Brilliant! It all makes sense now. What at the time seemed tragic has turned out to be necessary steps to final victory. Who would have thought!
Look, it may have seemed to be an execution or a punishment, but it really was a sacrifice, a sacrificial offering to God:
– He was like the Passover lamb. Those who were marked by his blood are spared from death and ultimate destruction.
– This was a once and for all Yom Kippur. Like a high priest, he passed beyond the curtain of death that conceals the holy of holies, and he sprinkled atoning and cleansing blood before God.
– Now we understand what he meant at that final supper when he gave them the cup of wine to drink as the sign of the blood that sealed a new covenant.
– His death was also like a sin-offering. It was one great act of atonement for all the failings, obliviousness, selfishness, and weakness of us all.
– Talk about payback, this was an astounding redemption—a life, his life—for us all, for you, for me, for everybody.
In retrospect, another way of looking at it is the power of his fidelity and integrity. His teaching, his example, and his life speaks to us:
– Above all else, he sought the will of his Father and asked for the courage and strength to conform his life to it, no matter what. “Father not my will, but your will be done.”
– The only commandment he gave his followers was to love one another as he loved them—and he reminded them that “greater love than this no one has, then to give his life . . .”
– He refused to compromise these values, the foundation of his life, even if the price he had to pay was his very life itself!
Remember when his disciple asked him about the way to eternal life. He baffled them at first when he said he himself was the way
– The way isn’t a physical path or road. It’s a lifestyle—a way of living.
– The way may have its up and downs, its light and dark times, it apparent successes and failures, but it ultimately leads to the fulness of life.
– He really was a trailblazer. Most people thought that death was, as the expression says, a dead end—final, impenetrable, the last stop. But, he broke through it! He showed that there is life beyond it.
– He’s looking back and calling us to keep following his way. He’s warning us about compromising our convictions and falling for the illusion that there are short-cuts.
– He promises to give the courage, strength, and Spirit we need to persevere in following “the ‘impossible” dream.”
Talk about words, “resurrection” is one of the most baffling:
– It doesn’t refer to coming back, back to life; it’s about going on—beyond—to a yet unexperienced stage of life.
– It doesn’t answer any questions about what, when, where, or how. But, it does give a baffling but real assurance, not like “finding the gold at the end of rainbow.”
– There’s no one around who fully understands or who has all the answers—no scientist, philosopher, theologian—no leader, personality, ruler—no rabbi, priest, minister—no imam, sage, or guru.
But, don’t forget. We’re celebrating victory. Thanks be to God, Jesus won!
12 April 2020