“’He saved others,’ they scoffed, ‘but He can’t save Himself! So He is the King of the Israel, is He? Let Him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in Him. He trusted God, so let God rescue Him now if He wants Him! For He said, “I am the Son of God.”’” (Matthew 27:41-43 NLT)
Close your eyes and envision the Cross. What do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear? What is everything in you crying out for you to do?
As I understand it, there are only two legitimate responses to the Cross of Christ: embrace it or run from it. We kneel at the Savior’s feet in worship and submission to who He is and what He did for us, or we ignore Him and seek to find our own way. In my mind there are no other options.
Listen to the idiocy of those who mocked Him. “’He saved others,’ they scoffed, ‘but He can’t save Himself!’” He’s the only human being who has ever lived or ever will live who didn’t need saving, yet there He died because He knew if He didn’t, we would have no hope of heaven. No one EVER suffered more than Jesus, not only from the agony and torture of the cross itself, but from the weight of our sin whose burden would have been unbearable. Thus, no one can understand our suffering with more compassion than He.
Paul David Tripp reminds us: “The cross guarantees that even in your darkest moment God will never turn in disgust and walk away. There is no rebellion, no weakness, no foolishness, no evil of heart that the cross can’t defeat and grace can’t transform.” The Cross answers a lot of questions many of us fear to ask. Questions like: “Have I strayed too far?” “Have I waited too long?” “Is my pain too deep?” “Is my heartache ever going to stop?” “If only I’d __________!” And a thousand more!
The heart of God was literally displayed on the Cross. The love that drove Him there, the determination of Spirit that kept Him there, there’s nothing in the human vocabulary to describe what lengths, breadths, heights, and depths God was willing to go to prove His commitment and devotion to us. HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US! PERIOD! END OF STORY!
There’s nothing we could ever do that would prevent Him from receiving our repentant, contrite heart, when bowed in humble submission to His loving kindness, seeking His forgiveness and restoration. Even as I write these words, I think of those who are responsible for the enslavement and trafficking of children; those who torture and murder them for their vile and satanic pleasure.
In my flesh I’d like to see them tortured and defiled and made to suffer for their sins, but even as those thoughts arise the Lord assures me – they will, if they don’t repent and turn away from their wickedness. “BUT SOMEBODY HAS TO PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID!” my raging heart cries!
“Somebody already has!” comes the quiet, reassuring voice of my Savior. “That’s what I accomplished on the Cross! So, whosoever will may come!”
As the Lord senses my still troubled heart He reminds me: “You and that person you so abhor aren’t so different you know! Just different circumstances and different opportunities. Had you been in their shoes you may well have done exactly what they did.” Then the clincher: “Is your sin less vile than there’s?”
Until we come to terms with the fact that ANYONE is capable of ANYTHING given the right set of circumstances; that we, you and I, are capable of being the vilest of the vile, we’ll not grasp the value and efficacy of the Cross!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed
Walking With Jesus 