THE HANDS OF CHRIST

“So the other disciples told Thomas, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.’ Eight days later, the disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’”  (John 20:25-27 ESV)

These hands fed the multitude but gave them more than bread.  These hands healed the sick, but gave them more than health.  These hands touched the sinner, but gave him more than encouragement.  These hands expressed the pity of God, as well as the suffering of the Son of man.  He who began to identify Himself with us in baptism, identifies Himself with us in our sorrows and makes us whole.

These hands began no economic reform, initiated no political action, started no social transformation.  These hands were given over to His enemies, laid on a cross, pierced by nails, torn in agony, hurt for a wearisome world.  Even the resurrected Jesus bears the nail prints in His hands for all to see. 

-- H. S. Vigeveno in “Jesus the Revolutionary”  [1966]

#6214

A DIFFERENT KIND OF KING

“They took palm branches and went out to meet [Jesus], shouting, ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: ‘Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.’ At first His disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about Him and that these things had been done to Him.” (John 12:13-16 NIV)

This is the kind of King we follow, a King whose standard is the cross. Many look at the cross and see Christ's suffering and death for them, a "full and perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world," and indeed this is one of the profound and powerful truths of the cross. But there is more.

When I look at the cross, I see a divine love story centered on a God who suffered to save the human race, a King who died for His people. This love is selfless and sacrificial -- a parent dying for a child, a lover dying for the beloved. Ultimately, the cross is a sign of the lengths to which God will go to save us from sin and brokenness. It reminds us that forgiveness came at a great price.

Luke includes the words Jesus prayed from the cross, words that I find utterly astounding, a prayer transcending space and time, offered on Calvary for all people everywhere: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) 

-- Adapted from Adam Hamilton in “The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus”

#6093

OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20 NIV)

In order to receive and offer reconciliation, we need to be able to claim a self whose very identity lies in God, a self which we know can neither be given away nor stolen. 

-- Roberta Bondi

#5355

DON’T TURN AWAY

“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him; nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:2b-6 NIV)

Most of us don’t like to face bad news. We turn off the television when a sensitive story is told. We ask to be spared the details when an injury or death is described. For whatever reason, we would rather avoid hearing or knowing the truth if it isn’t pretty.

One of the reasons that Lent is so important is that it requires us to come face to face with the graphic and painful death of Jesus. We would rather jump right over the suffering of Good Friday and go directly to Easter. But we cannot. We must watch Jesus die.

It may have been the Jews who placed Jesus upon the cross, but it was our sin that drove the nails into His hands and feet. It was our voices that cried out “Crucify Him!” It was for us that He died, and He did it willingly, so that we might live.  

-- Steven Molin, from the “Cypress Lake UMC Lenten Devotional 2004”

#5326

SUFFERING ON THE CROSS

"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed."  (1Peter 2:24 ESV)

During my senior year in high school, I took an art history survey course taught by a dynamic and passionate art lover. Ms. Giles, with her colorful, stylish clothes and contagious enthusiasm, trained us to analyze and appreciate art in all its diverse genres and media, from the art of the ancient Greeks to the art of surrealist, abstract, and post-modern painters and sculptors. Some time periods and artists I appreciated more than others.

One day Ms. Giles pulled me aside after class for a gentle conversation. "I noticed you weren't looking at some of the slides today, Sharon," she said. "Is anything wrong?"

The slides that day were primarily paintings of the crucifixion, and I couldn't bear to look. I made some excuse about feeling squeamish with some of the gory depictions. But more than that, I found the paintings disturbing because they were too close and confrontational. At that point in my life, I was far more comfortable with an empty cross, a sanitized cross, the kind I could wear around my neck on a gold or silver chain on Sundays. I didn't want to look at Jesus suffering upon it. 

-- Sharon Garlough Brown, excerpted from her newsletter

#5065

BOUGHT WITH A PRICE

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20)

"Do you not know that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body."  (1 Corinthians 6:19,20)

My life has been paid for by Jesus Christ. My life belongs to Him. Therefore, I can't do what "I" want to do, I must do what "He" wants me to do. 

-- Ron Brown, Assistant Coach, University of Nebraska, in Sports Spectrum

#4978

THE PARADOX OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP

People are sometimes illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway, as Christ did.

If you do good, people might accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway, as Christ did.

If you are successful, you can win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway, as Christ did.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway, as Christ did.

Honesty and frankness can make you vulnerable. Be honest anyway, as Christ was.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest ideas. Think big anyway, as Christ did.

People favor underdogs but follow top dogs. Fight for the underdogs anyway, as Christ did.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway, as Christ did.

People who need help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway, as Christ did.

Give the world the best you have and you may get kicked in the teeth, or even crucified. Give your best anyway, as Christ did.

-- Based on the Paradoxical Commandments by Kent M. Keith, adapted by Rev. David T. Wilkinson


#4782

MISSING THE MEANING OF THE CROSS

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”  (Galatians  2:20)

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, “Come and assert yourself for Christ.” To the egotist it says, “Come and do your boasting in the Lord.” To the thrill seeker it says, “Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship.” The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

-- A. W. Tozer in “Man, the Dwelling Place of God” 

#4568

THE IMAGE OF CHRIST

“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”  (1 Corinthians 2:2 NKJV)

Jesus Christ evokes many images in the minds of people. Some picture Him as a baby in the manger -- the Christ of Christmas. Others picture Him as a child, perhaps living in the home of a carpenter or confounding the religious leaders of Jerusalem. Many picture Him as a compassionate and powerful healer who restored the sick and raised the dead. Still others picture a bold and fiery preacher speaking the Word of God to great crowds. And there are those who see Him as the consummate man -- a model of goodness, kindness, sympathy, concern, care, tenderness, forgiveness, wisdom, and understanding.

Yet one image of Christ that surpasses all the rest is Jesus Christ on the cross. To know Christ crucified is to know Him as the author and finisher of your faith -- the truest picture of His person and work.

Christ’s suffering on the cross is the focal point of the Christian faith. That’s where His deity, humanity, work, and suffering are most clearly seen.

-- John MacArthur in “Truth for Today”

#4306

GOD’S PURPOSE AT THE CROSS

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:6)

“Suffered.” This word carries not only the everyday meaning of bearing pain, but also the older and wider sense of being the object affected by someone else’s action. The Latin is ‘passus’, whence comes the noun “passion.” Both God and men were agents of Jesus’s passion: “this Jesus, delivered up according to the plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23, from Peter’s sermon). God’s purpose at the cross was as real as was the guilt of the crucifers.

What was God’s purpose? Judgment on sin, for the sake of mercy to sinners. The miscarrying of human justice was the doing of divine justice. Jesus knew on the cross all the pain, physical and mental, that man could inflict and also the divine wrath and rejection that my sins deserve; for He was there in my place, making atonement for me. “All we like sheep have gone astray… and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

-- J.I. Packer, quoted in “His Passion: Christ’s Journey to the Resurrection”

#4304

PREACHING CHRIST

“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2 NIV)

In a generic God culture, we may be tempted to describe the faith as broad, universal, and unrestrictive. So we may preach an amorphous "love" without giving it the cruciform shape that makes Christian love possible -- and so demanding. Or we may preach "compassion," "possibility thinking," "self-fulfillment," or whatever vague virtues that culture may be in the market for at the moment.

We must trust Jesus enough to create the hearing that He deserves. Our job is to keep our preaching tied to its proper object -- not the wishes and fears of the congregation -- but rather the God who seeks and saves in the person of Jesus.

-- Will Willimon in “Leadership Journal”, Winter 2002


#4267

IT IS FINISHED… PAID IN FULL

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’  Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.  So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”  (John 19:28-30 NKJV)

[Jesus] tilted His head back, pulled up one last time to draw breath and cried, "Tetelestai!" It was a Greek expression most everyone present would have understood. It was an accounting term. Archaeologists have found papyrus tax receipts with "Tetelestai" written across them, meaning "paid in full." With Jesus' last breath on the cross, He declared the debt of sin cancelled, completely satisfied, [finished]. Nothing else required. Not good deeds. Not generous donations. Not penance or confession or baptism or...or...or...nothing. The penalty for sin is death, and we were all born hopelessly in debt. He paid our debt in full by giving His life so that we might live forever.

-- Charles R. Swindoll


#4076

OUR ONLY BOAST

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  (1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV)

Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of every pleasure and the deepest comfort in every pain. What was once foolishness to us -- a crucified God -- must become our wisdom and our power and our only boast in this world.

-- John Piper in “Don't Waste Your Life”


#4074

A MUCH BETTER LIFE

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”  (Galatians 2:20)

I turn my life and will over to God.  I seek to obey the best I can.  You lose a life, but you gain a life -- a life much better than the one you lost.  In the end, it turns out that nothing you lost was really worth keeping anyway.

-- John Ortberg in The Me I Want To Be

#3925

A LIVING HOUSE

"I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me."  (Galatians 2:20)

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you know that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of -- throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself!

-- C.S. Lewis in Counting the Cost

#3873

THE SIGN FOR JESUS

In the sign language for the deaf, the sign for Jesus is to point to the palms of both hands with the index finger of the other hand. This is symbolic of the nail prints in the hands of Jesus.


The sign for the Bible is to point with first one index finger then the other to the palms of both hands, then to open the palms up as if they were a book. In other words, the Bible is a book about Jesus Christ.


-- Jamie Buckingham in Power for Living




#3849

HELD TO THE CROSS

"God made Christ who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."  (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)


It wasn't the Romans who nailed Jesus to the cross.  It wasn't the Jewish religion that took Him up the hill of Calvary.  It wasn't spikes that held Jesus to the cross.  What held Him to that cross was His conviction that it was necessary that He become sin -- that He who is pure become sin and that the wrath of God be poured down, not upon the creation, but upon the Creator.


-- Max Lucado




#3833

THE MARKS OF THE CROSS

I have seen the marks of the cross upon Him, and by His grace the marks of the cross have been put upon me and I am no longer my own; I am bought with a price, redeemed by His precious blood. Yes, I have seen Him - not in the outward physical sense only, but in the inward sense of a deep spiritual reality. I have had a clear view of Jesus and my life will never be the same again.

-- Alan Redpath

#3756

PREACHING CHRIST CRUCIFIED

The story has been told of a church in the former Soviet Union on which was painted, "But we preach Christ crucified" (1 Corinthians 1:23). During the communist era the church was not cared for and weeds began to overtake the building. The weeds first obscured the bottom word, "crucified," changing the verse to read, "But we preach Christ."  The weeds pressed upward and concealed "Christ," leaving simply, "But we preach."  Finally the weeds hid "preach," yielding the disturbing words, "But we."

The weeds teach a profound lesson. When the church neglects to preach the cross and the full range of biblical teaching connected with it, it is not long before interest in Christ Himself fades. The church may continue preaching, but now says only what people wish to hear. Finally, the church is left to itself and to its doubts in an empty fellowship of the "But we."

-- from Wesley: Adult Bible Student, Jul - Aug, 2000

#3656