That is exactly why the cross of Christ is not simply the starting line of the spiritual race set before us (to borrow from Paul); it is the finish line as well! Years ago I read an imaginary account of a man who found trips to the cross to be a daily necessity. He writes, “A humble woman seeks me out because of my vaunted reputation as a spiritual guide. She is simple and direct: ‘Please teach me how to pray, sir.’ Tersely I inquire, ‘Tell me about your prayer life at this point in your life.’ She lowers her eyes and says contritely, ‘There’s not much to tell. I say grace before meals.’ Haughtily I reply, ‘You say grace before meals! Isn’t that nice, Madam. I say grace upon waking and before retiring, and grace again before reading the newspaper and turning on the television. I say grace before ambulating and meditating, before the theater and the opera, before jogging, swimming, biking, dining, lecturing, and writing. I even say grace before I say grace.’ That night, saggy with self-approval I go before the Lord. And He whispers to me, ‘You ungrateful turd. Even the desire to say grace is itself my gift.’”
There’s an ancient Christian legend that goes like this: “When the Son of God was nailed to the cross and gave up His spirit, He went straight to hell from the cross and set free all the sinners who were in torment there. And the devil wept for he thought he would never get any more sinners for hell. Then God said to him, ‘Do not weep, for I shall send you all those holy people who have become self-complacent in the consciousnesses of their own goodness and self-righteousness in their condemnation of sinners. And hell shall be filled up once more for generations until I come again.’”
No wonder Martin Luther repeatedly admonished his student pastors saying, “We must preach the Gospel to ourselves, every day, lest we grow discouraged.” For what is the heart of this Gospel? It is the finality of the cross! Think of it. What does it mean when Jesus utters His penultimate word from the cross – tetelestai: “It is finished”? Have you considered that lately? It’s a mistake to find in those words only a message that His suffering is over. His word has far more to do with your suffering and mine, than His. What is finished for you in these words? That’s the question that will possess us this communion Sunday as we come together to worship and dig into the wondrous cross again. So far, I believe the case has been made – the cross is the place to which every growing, mature Christian must return again and again. It’s not simply a starting point – it’s the touchstone, the acid test, the place where self-approval is swept away by an avalanche of grace.
In preparation for Sunday’s message you may wish to consider
the following:
1. Where
did Martin Luther come to appreciate the words of Habakkuk 2:2-4?
2. How
did the blood of God meet the word of God? What was its impact?
3. A
few weeks ago we read of the thief on the cross. How did he experience a “Luther” moment on
the cross?
4. How
did the Galatians get “bewitched”? (See
Galatians 3:1f.)
5. How
does Paul’s statement in Galatians 6:14 speak of the finality of the cross?
6. If
the fourth word of Jesus on the cross is the heart of the cross, how is the
sixth word the soul of the cross?
7. What
does it mean to say that through the cross all of the requirements of the Law
are ended for the believer?
8. How
is Christ’s active and passive obedience the beginning of grateful obedience
for the believer?
9. How
does the word “tetelestai” separate Christianity from every other religious
system?
10. How does
Jesus’ sixth word from the cross mean that Satan’s power has been broken?
11. How does
the sixth word overwhelm every doubt, every failure, every worry a believer
might have?
12. How does
the sixth word make the Gospel the Good News?
See you Sunday as we gather at the table and remember that
the cross is Jesus’ “office”.
