The Contentment of the Cross

There’s an old story about a King who was suffering from a painful ailment.  His astrologer told him that the only cure was to find a contented man, get his shirt, and wear it day and night.  So messengers were sent throughout his kingdom to find a man who was content and order that he surrender his shirt so it could be brought back to the King to wear.

 

Months passed, and after a thorough search, the messengers returned, but without the shirt.  “Did you find a contented man?” the King asked.  “Yes, your Highness, we found one man who was content.”  “Well, where’s his shirt?” the King demanded.  The messengers looked at each other and said, “Master, the man had no shirt.”

 
Last week, after preaching on Jesus’ sixth word from the cross – “It is finished” – and the finality of the cross, a person came up to me harboring a burning issue.  I know it was “burning” because it had been festering for seven weeks.  For seven straight Sundays this person had been waiting to express utter contempt for our new member process.

The problem?  Friends joined Hebron seven weeks ago and this person was not asked to be their sponsor.  Never mind that one of the principle goals of sponsorship is to widen the friendship circle for new members by specifically asking those that they may not already know to sponsor them.  For this person, the selection of someone else as a sponsor was an egregious act of discrimination.  And the reason I know that is because no matter what I said, it didn’t begin to atone for the perceived slight!

Now I can understand being miffed.  I can understand feeling depreciated.  But what was most striking to me was the timing of the diatribe.  Seven weeks had elapsed in which seven messages on the total sufficiency of the cross had been preached.  Moreover, the spewing discontent came on the heels of one whole hour of focusing on the finality of the cross and gathering around the communion table.  I walked away thinking, “Really?”

Not too long afterwards I heard the Lord say, “You’re a lot like that so many times.”  And I confess that I am.  If you are anything like me, you find that your discontent can surface at any time, even after a worship service, even after worshipping a Lord who repeatedly laid down His own interests.

As we have said from the start of this series, there’s only one place where our deepest needs are met and that’s at the cross. The cross isn’t a place to go once – it’s a place to go every day.  The cross is our Lord’s office. The cross is the place where He chisels off the corners of our self-interest and self-righteousness.  The cross is the place where He breaks the tyranny of our felt needs by meeting our deepest need for love and worth.

This Sunday we will end our nine-week series “The Wondrous Cross” with a message entitled, “The Contentment of the Cross.” We will focus on the seventh and last statement of Jesus on the cross as recorded in Luke’s gospel, “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’” (Luke 23:46)  It’s in this final statement that we find the ground of true contentment – now and forever.

In preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the following:

1.      Read Galatians 6:11-16 and Luke 23:44-46.

2.      Read Luther’s commentary on Galatians 2:20 in the section 2:15-21.

3.      What do you make of Jesus’ address of God in verse 46?  How often is God addressed as “Father” in the Old Testament?

4.      How does “Father” differ from the One He addresses in His fourth word, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

5.      What is the significance of Jesus committing His spirit into His Father’s hands?

6.      What is the relevance of such a commitment for you as a Christian?

7.      What else does Jesus say about His Father’s hands in the Gospel of John?

8.      What does it mean to “commit” His spirit to His Father?

9.      What significance is there for you in Jesus’ enduring judgment before His commitment?

10.  What is the relevance of what’s referenced in Luke 23:45 preceding verse 46?

11.  Why is Jesus’ seventh statement from the cross the absolute ground of a Christian’s contentment?

See you Sunday!

The Finality of the Cross

Brennan Manning writes, “There is a myth flourishing in the church today that has caused incalculable harm – once saved, fully saved.  In other words, I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior; an irreversible, sinless future beckons.  Discipleship will be an untarnished success story; life will be an unbroken upward spiral toward holiness…Often I have been asked, ‘Brennan, how is it possible that you became an alcoholic after you got saved?’  It is possible because I got battered and bruised by loneliness and failure, because I got discouraged, uncertain, guilt-ridden, and took my eyes off Jesus.  Because the Christ encounter didn’t transfigure me into an angel.  Because justification by grace through faith means I have been set in right relationship with God, not made the equivalent of a patient etherized on a table.’”

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”.

The Love of the Cross

When we think of Jesus on the cross, we are drawn to think:  “What are the reasons for what He has done for us, why did some make fun of Him while others cried, and what was it like for Him on that Good Friday?”  Our text from Matthew speaks of a darkness which “came over all the land,” and what follows that description is a quote from Psalm 22.  These are fairly familiar words to many of us.  We think of He who loved us before we loved Him, and we should never forget this.   But this Sunday, I would like us to spend some time focusing on the responsibilities that we, who receive this love, have.  For this perspective, we look at John chapter 6:25-40.  I would encourage you to read all of John 6 before Sunday morning, and then as you read Matthew 27:45-50, ask yourself: what is my responsibility in receiving Christ’s love. 

·         The Old Testament speaks of “darkness” several times.  Look up Amos 8:9 and Joel 2:31 to get some idea of what the theme of “darkness” is in these passages and ponder if there is any similarity to what we read in Matthew 27.

·         When reading through John 6, look for the perspective which the people of that day had, and the perspective Jesus had.  What was the perspective from the side of man and his responsibility to receive what God offers, and from the perspective of God and His sovereignty to accomplish His saving purposes?  Were they the same perspectives?

·         Do we see any similarities in John 4:15 (the woman at the well) to what we read in John 6?

·         In John 6:35 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”  What type of hunger and thirst was he talking about, and does this mean we will never hunger and thirst again?  And if we do hunger and thirst, does this mean we have failed to understand our responsibilities in receiving Christ’s love?

I would appreciate your prayers for me as I finish my thoughts this week seeking to find God’s Word, and I thank you for the invitation to be with you.  See you Sunday.

The Hope of the Cross

Is there such a person as a Good Thief?  Our Lord Jesus was crucified between two thieves (rebels, criminals) who initially attacked him verbally. One thief, however, repented and asked Jesus to remember him in His Kingdom.  This man is known in church tradition as the Good Thief.

 

This thief is known by various names in church tradition...Titus, Demas, Dismas. All we know for certain about him is his salvation experience. He was on a cross next to The Cross. His interaction with Jesus as they both hung on crosses is revealing in at least 3 ways.

1.      Those who would be considered "very" sinful can be saved! Whatever his crime(s) - murder, insurrection or robbery - Jesus still saved him. Paul considered himself the chief of sinners - 1 Timothy 1:15. Manasseh, Judah's most wicked king, found mercy when he repented - 2 Chronicles 33:9-16. We have all sung (perhaps with a glimmer of our own sinfulness) "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a WRETCH like me."

2.      There is hope for salvation. This thief had reached the end of the road. Hanging on a cross, guilty as sin, staring death in the face, he was still granted God's wonderful gift of salvation! We may be too old, weak, broke or damaged to do certain things but we can still be saved. What we have here in Luke 23 is a true "deathbed" conversion. Sometimes people ask if they can be saved after living a lifetime of ignoring God, church, the Bible...the answer is yes! But the caution is not to make that a plan of action i.e., I will live as I want till I am at death's door then I will receive Christ. One young man who was under spiritual conviction told the preacher, Dr. Harry Ironside, that he would be like the thief on the cross. Dr. Ironside replied "Which thief?"  One thief apparently never did get saved.  We do not know when our death may come and so the Bible challenges us to trust Jesus today!  2 Corinthians 6:2; Hebrews 4:7

3.      What comfort there is in salvation! Even when facing death and eternity this thief received wonderful promises from Jesus. The day of this man's death would become his same day to enter into the blessings of eternal life beyond. No indication of soul sleep or probational period in purgatory, but TODAY he would be with Jesus in Paradise. Jesus promised that the thief would be with HIM. That was the same promise to the disciples at the Last Supper. Jesus promised to come back and receive them to Himself - that where He is they would be also. John 14:3  How MUCH better than the heart rending and frightening words of Matthew 25:41 "Depart from Me."

 

See you Sunday.

1.      There were 3 crosses that day.  Where was Jesus' cross located? Matthew 27:38  Do you think there is any significance to that?

2.     The Good Thief talks about fearing God. What do you think he meant in that context and do you think we should fear God? Luke 23:40; Proverbs 1:7: 1 Peter 2:17. How would you define what it is to fear God?

3.     What does Luke 23:41a tell us about how this thief viewed himself? Compare Romans 3:23; 6:23a

4.      Study Luke 23:41b,42. How did this thief view Jesus? 1 Peter 2:22: 2 Peter 1:15.

5.     Who else talks about Paradise in the Bible? Are Paradise and Heaven the same or different? Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7

6.      List all the reasons someone should wait to trust Chris Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

 

The Forgiveness of the Cross

The Easter season is a time when there is a focus on the 7 Sayings of our Lord Jesus from the cross.  The first saying "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" is found only in the gospel of Luke.  This is our focus even after Good Friday and Easter as we continue to look at the cross.  I like this statement from Dr. Mark Roberts: "It makes sense that the first word of Jesus from the cross is a word of forgiveness.  That's the point of the cross, after all." 

Here are some questions we can ponder together...1) Who was Jesus asking for forgiveness for?  The soldiers who were crucifying him or the crowd around the cross as well? 2)  What did He mean saying they didn't know what they were doing?  The soldiers obviously knew how to crucify someone - historically, it was common in that era.  Could it be that He was saying that they didn't know WHO they were crucifying?  Like the old spiritual "Sweet little Jesus boy...we didn't know it was you".  3) Why did Jesus ask the Father to forgive them when He could forgive sins Himself?  Bible commentators have considered these issues and come to various conclusions.  The blessing to me is that He prayed such a prayer! 

Considering forgiveness in light of the cross is quite instructive and challenging.  The cross is about forgiveness so if we experience forgiveness at the cross, we are also to be forgiving.  We are to be forgiving even toward those who hurt us terribly.  Finally, we are to be forgiving and prayerful even when experiencing the most severe situations.  No wonder  Bible teacher William Barclay wrote about this saying of the Savior "There is nothing so lovely and nothing so rare as Christian forgiveness."

See you Sunday!

1. What prophecy is fulfilled in this prayer of Jesus?  Isaiah 53:12
2. Is Jesus still praying for sinners?  Hebrews 7:25
3. Who does the Scripture include among the ignorant when Jesus was crucified?  Acts 3:12-19; 13:27; 2 Corinthians 2:8
4. While some sins are done in ignorance and we are often ignorant of the full wickedness and damaging effect of our sin...is there forgiveness for even intentional and rebellious sin?  1John 1:9
5. How does this prayer of Jesus fulfill the point of the cross?  Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 1:21, 1 Corinthians 15:3
6. How does Jesus practice what He preached?  Matthew 5:44
7. Who is the great N.T. example of following the Savior in forgiveness?  Acts 7:59-60 What about us?  Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13

The Wisdom of the Cross

“When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.” 

Of all the statements Paul ever makes, Galatians 6:14 is arguably the most profound:  “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.”

We have yet more to say about this great and wonderful statement.  Here Paul is nailing his colors to the mast.  He is advancing the essence of his being.  He is contrasting himself with those who are motivated by personal ambition and ego, like he once was.  He glories in nothing, he boasts in nothing, except the cross of Jesus Christ.

We have already seen in our series that the cross is the very heart and center of the Christian message.  Indeed, our eternal destiny depends on the view we take of the death of Jesus of Nazareth upon the cross.  So we have been considering why the Christian says that the cross of Christ, the death of this Son of God on the cross, is to him the most momentous, the most vital of all facts, that there is nothing that compares with it, and that to him it is the most significant thing in the universe. 

I make that point deliberately.  The Christian is the person who says I don’t care what has happened.  I don’t care what may happen.  I don’t care what it is – Russian incursion into Ukraine, a series of Blood Moons, a potential crashing economy, a rampage at Ft. Hood, a Kansas synagogue, or a Murrysville school – nothing can ever approach in significance to what happened on the cross when Jesus died, was buried in a grave, rose again, and went back to His throne.  

Why does the Christian say this?  Why does he glory in it?  We have begun to answer that question by looking at the greatness and the glory of the cross.  We have seen that the cross, with all its mighty paradoxes, is a spectacle which makes anything that you can think of in history, or anything that you can imagine, simply pale into insignificance.

When a man like the Apostle Paul, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, says he glories in the cross, you can be sure that it is the deepest, most profound thing in the universe.  A casual glance at the cross is not enough.  The saints of the centuries have been surveying it, they have been looking upon it, gazing upon it, and meditating on it.  In fact, the more they’ve looked, and the more you look, the more is seen!  The great Puritan, Thomas Carlisle, once described the cross as “infinities and immensities.”  Therefore, only a fool would think of the cross as an interesting fact or a point in a series.  It’s not.  It’s the destination of every maturing Christian.  It’s the stake in the ground.  It’s the pivotal point of human history.  It’s the fulcrum upon which eternity is suspended.

So I repeat the question.  Why?  Why did the cross happen? Why did the Son of God, the Prince of glory hang there?  What is the divine purpose?  We have it all in Scripture.  We don’t have to draw upon our imagination.  We don’t have to invent answers.  It’s all set forth for us in Scripture should we care to dig.

That’s what we will do again this Sunday – Easter.  We will dig into two particular texts:  I Corinthians 1:26-31 and II Corinthians 5:16-21 to find the reason for the cross in the mind of God.  The message this Easter is “The Wisdom of the Cross.”  It’s a perfect topic for it offers us a full-orbed view of the parallel between the cross and tomb.

In preparation for Sunday’s message you may wish to consider the following:

1. How is Isaiah 53 a perfect prophecy of the death of Jesus on the cross?
2. How are Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in John 3 an indication of the wisdom of the coming cross?
3. How does Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 give us insight into the wisdom of God at the cross?
4. How can theologians of every era say that at the cross every essential attribute of God’s nature can be seen?  Can you identify any?
5. How can the immutability of God be seen at the cross?
6. How is the cross a cosmic triumph of the power of God over rulers and authorities and the prince of this world?  (See Colossians 3:6-15.)
7. Why do Jesus and His post-resurrection apostles refer to the cross as a place of glory?
8. How does God use the cross to confound the wise?
9. What does Peter mean in I Peter 1:10-12 when he says that there are things into which angels “long to look”?
10. How is the cross a direct attack on the wisdom of Satan?  (See Ezekiel 28:11-17 and Isaiah 14:12-14.)

See you on Easter!

The Glory of the Cross

It’s noon on Wednesday and there’s already been a stabbing at Franklin Regional High School,  word that my friend, Mike, is in a Cleveland ICU now with cancer all through his body, three friends with serious business crises all involving family, a burial of a dear confidante, and news of several more challenges.  All this in half of one day!  How is it possible that the cross speaks to any and all of this?  What possible point of commonality exists here?

In last week’s message I repeatedly mentioned that the cross is the place where God deals with us.  It’s the place where you and I find the answer to all of life’s problems.  And I’m sure that it prompted the question, “How can that be?  How does the cross help me with ___?”

This week I hope to elaborate a bit as we turn from the greatness of the cross to the glory of the cross.  In Acts 27 Paul makes an amazing statement that sheds light on the answer.  He’s on his way to Rome to stand before Caesar and make an appeal for himself and the Gospel.  Luke tells us that, as he sails with a number of other prisoners a northeaster strikes and his ship is in grave danger.  And, if you read the full account, you find that it’s not just a momentary danger, but a danger that lasts for days.

In the midst of it Paul stands on deck and shouts to the crewmen and his fellow prisoners, “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid…you must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you!’”

Now it’s not the outcome of the angel’s message that interests me; it’s the description Paul uses for him.  Paul says, “Last night an angel of the God whose I am…stood beside me.  It’s those six words:  “of the God whose I am” that have a direct bearing on the contention that every problem you have is only properly addressed at the cross.  You see, Paul knows that regardless of the circumstances in which he finds himself, his identity is fixed in Christ.  He says, “I belong to God.”

Remember the words of the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism?  The Question is this:  “What is your only comfort, in life and in death?  Answer:  “That I belong – body and soul, in life and in death – not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”  Where did the framers of the Heidelberg Catechism get that?  They got it from the Apostle Paul.  Where did he get that?  He got it at the cross, and I can prove it from the rest of the answer: “Who at the cost of his own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil; that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation.  Therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.”

You see what Paul is saying on the deck of that ship is this:  “My identity is fixed; I belong to Him, and therefore, this problem is His problem.”  Where does he get such certainty?  How does he know his identity is fixed?  The same place he gets it “re-fixed” – at the cross.

As we said last week, the cross is not a one-stop shop for the believer.  It is the place where we must have our true identity affirmed time and time again; and our identity is at the root of every solution to every problem we face.  It was for Paul.  It is for us.  And the reason that our true identity is at the root of every solution to any problem is because of the true identity of Jesus on the cross.  That’s what we’ll examine this week because the cross is where is His true identity best seen, and most deeply understood.  In fact, it’s His identity that makes the cross not only great, but glorious!

In preparation for Sunday’s message, “The Glory of the Cross” you may wish to consider the following:

1. Read Galatians 6:14-16; Romans 5:6-10; and Luke 19:36-40.
2. What does Paul mean when he says, “by the cross the world has been crucified to me”?
3. What does “glory” mean?
4. What does it mean to “glory” in the cross?
5. How does the cry of the crowd in Luke 19:38 speak to the glory of the cross?
6. How is the cross the Acid Test of the human heart?
7. Do you agree that one’s preaching of the cross should offend the natural human heart?
8. How does the cross save us from God?
9. How does the cross continue to save us from ourselves?
10. How is the cross a cosmic event?

See you on Palm Sunday!