Tag: The Cross

Morning Musing: Romans 5:8

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“But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As we prepare for the great celebration of Easter, there are a lot of different things to which we give our attention. We’ve already covered a couple of them in the last couple of days. Jesus’ death really was necessary because sin really is that big of a problem. We talk through various apologetic defenses of the crucifixion and the resurrection. We talk about the implications of the resurrection. That one alone provides enough material to keep us going for quite a long time. Just when you think you’ve run out of material, more shows up. The ramifications of Jesus’ walking out of His tomb on Sunday morning are vast beyond reckoning. But in the midst of all of these important conversations, there’s one that often gets missed. I want to see if we can thread a needle this morning and talk for just a second about something we don’t often consider: None of this had to happen.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 19:9-15

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“The Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you and will always believe you.’ Moses reported the people’s words to the Lord, and the Lord told Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them tomorrow. They must wash their clothes and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death. No hand may touch him; instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows and not live, whether animal or human. When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain.’ Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. He said to the people, ‘Be prepared by the third day. Do not have sexual relations with women.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As a parent, one of the things you learn pretty naturally (mostly because you experienced it with your own parents) is that different circumstances require a different tone of voice in order to communicate their relative seriousness. If you’re playing a game or having a casual conversation, you’ll choose a tone of voice that is light and gentle. If your kid is about to run into the street, you are going to use a loud and stern tone. It is vital that they understand how important it is to not run into the road. As God prepared to deliver some incredibly important commands to the people of Israel, He used the equivalent of a really stern voice. Let’s talk about what’s going on here.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 12:29-32

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“Now at midnight the Lord stuck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock. During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn’t a house without someone dead. He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, ‘Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the Lord as you have said. Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked and leave, and also bless me.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

God is going to one day bring judgment on the earth for all the sin that has been committed on it over the course of human history. Now, a great deal of sin was covered by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Actually, all of it was covered, but this covering only extends to those who have been willing to receive it. That’s the problem. Not nearly everyone has accepted His gracious gift. Many have and will yet decide to bear the weight of their sin on their own. They pridefully believe themselves capable of handling the load. They will be proven disastrously wrong in the end. That will indeed be a terrifying day. We know this because the mere snapshots God has given us of judgment in the Scriptures are themselves terrifying to behold. The final plague was a judgment against the sins of Egypt. Let’s talk about what is going on in these hard verses, and why they point us to a God worthy of our devotion.

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Good Friday 2023

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A little something different today as we celebrate Good Friday. Here’s some of what I’ll be sharing with my congregation this evening as we reflect on the power and importance of the cross. Thanks for listening and sharing.

The crucifixion of Jesus was the greatest injustice ever perpetrated on the earth. Jesus died a totally innocent man because of our sin. Listen to how it all unfolded. 

“Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers also twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and clothed him in a purple robe. And they kept coming up to him and saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ and were slapping his face. Pilate went outside again and said to them, ‘Look, I’m bringing him out to you to let you know I find no grounds for charging him.’ Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’

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Digging in Deeper: John 18:28

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“Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They did not enter the headquarters themselves; otherwise they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Everybody knows the Pharisees and other religious leaders of the Jews were the bad guys in the Gospels. They were the bad guys because of their hatred for Jesus. Beyond His constantly presenting the Law in ways they didn’t understand and wouldn’t accept, though, the thing that most enraged them about Him was His constantly pointing out their hypocrisy. They hated that. A lot. And yet, we have scenes like this one in which their hypocrisy in displayed in technicolor, yet their own screens seemed to be set only for black and white because they can’t see it. Let’s talk about the glaring hypocrisy of the Jewish religious elite and what it might mean for us.

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