Jesus was a failure...by modern standards of success. Unless, failure is succeeding in something that amounts to nothing. If that's the case, then most of us are failures. This morning I received a convicting devotional from my good friend Chad/fellow freedom fighter. I realized that almost everything in my life that I used to measure my success was a hoax.
This article talked about a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman who worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then traveled as an itinerant preacher...He never wrote a book, held office, or had a wife or kids...He had no degrees, never traveled abroad, nor did he ever do anything that contemporary society would consider a sign of greatness. All of his best friends ditched him on the night that he was falsely accused and arrested. His closest friend denied him, another betrayed him and he endured the humiliation of a public trial. He received the death penalty along with two convicted criminals. As he was dying the crowds jeered at him and mocked him. Covered in spit, blood, sweat, he finally came to tears.
And these tears had nothing to do with physical pain or embarrassment; it had everything to do with receiving the penalty for sin. At the moment when God the Father poured out all of his wrath onto Jesus as he hung on the cross, Jesus experienced all of our sin. He died on that cross as if he had been the rapist. He experienced the bitterness of being raped. That is why he cried. He died on that cross as if he personally committed all of our sin. Jesus knows what it is like to pay the price for adultery. He knows the feeling of murder. He knows the feeling of being a porn addict. He experienced all of those emotions and paid the price for all sin on the cross. When the Father turned his face and forsook Jesus, it was at that moment when he cried.
And why did Jesus die on the cross? The standard Christian answer is, "because he loved me and wanted to die on the cross for me." I don't think that is accurate. I see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane pleading with God for this "cup" to "pass." Looks like he didn't want to go to the cross. In the end He prayed, "not my will but yours be done." Jesus went to the cross and paid the debt in order to please the Father. Jesus was obedient and set the example for us to follow.
Its amazing how many people have rejected Jesus. Despite the fact that our entire calendar system revolves around him. Despite the fact that no other person in all of humanity has had such an impact on the world.
Those who read the story of Jesus either reject it as some fairy tale. Others read it and believe. Many believe, yet still carry the weight of shame and guilt. Many of us have given our lives to Christ yet believe there are some secrets and shame worth keeping? None of that make sense. Even for the unbeliever? If the thought is, "I can't believe in Jesus" surely you are burdened with your shame and guilt...unless your conscience is seared. If your thought is, "I believe in Jesus and that he paid for my sin in full" then why are there secrets that remain? Why any hint of shame and guilt? Where is there not complete freedom to be fully known and fully loved?
I guess the message of the gospel applies to everyone. In other words, nobody graduates from the gospel. Believer or non-believer, the gospel is a daily truth that sets us free or helps maintain the freedom that Christ has for us.
Today is the day of salvation.
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