THE LAST WORD

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.”  (John 20:1 NIV)

Early on the first day of the week, some of those who had loved Jesus the most came to pay Him love’s continuing respect. Especially, there was Mary of Magdala. She had been such a bewildered, mixed-up, self-destructive soul until Jesus came into her life, and He had turned her all around. But now He was gone. She had heard the last word: death. She had heard it right from hell, for hell is always trying to tell us that it has the last word.

When she got to the tomb, she found the body missing. This seemed like the final indignity, cruelty heaped on sorrow, for she felt someone had stolen His body. So she stood there weeping. That’s what you do, if you think the last word is the devil’s word: you weep.

Then a voice asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who is it you are looking for?” Mary was so broken by sorrow that she didn’t even look up, and so dulled by tragedy that she didn’t recognize the voice. “Sir,” she said, “if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.” She may have been grief-stricken, but to her credit, she hadn’t stopped loving.

Then Jesus said just one word. “Mary.” He called her by name. It must have been reminiscent of that day, months or years before, when He spoke her name and in doing so, called her out of the darkness and confusion which had so long characterized her life. At any rate, it was all she needed. “Teacher!” she cried. Then she hurried back to the disciples. “I have seen the Lord!” she told them. Which is to say -- death was not the last word. It wasn’t even the next-to-last word. Hell tried to tell her, when they took her Lord from the cross and carried Him off to a tomb, that the last word had been spoken, but it hadn’t. Because the last word is God. And then, the exclamation point.

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas (1923-2015), excerpted from a sermon entitled “In the End, the Exclamation Point”, February 28, 1990 

#6342

REALLY, LORD?

“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but He was raised to life in the Spirit.”  (1 Peter 3:18 NLT)

Really now, Lord Jesus, is our sin so serious as to necessitate the sort of ugly drama we are forced to behold on Good Friday? Why should the noon sky turn toward midnight and the earth heave and the heavens be rent for our mere peccadilloes? To be sure, we’ve made our mistakes. Things didn’t turn out as we intended. There were unforeseen complications, factors beyond our control. But we meant well. We didn’t intend for anyone to get hurt. We’re only human, and is that so wrong?

Really now, Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, we may not be the very best people who ever lived, but surely we are not the worst. Others have committed more serious wrong. Ought we to be held responsible for the ignorance of our grandparents? They, like we, were doing the best they could, within the parameters of their time and place. We’ve always been forced to work with limited information. There’s always been a huge gap between our intentions and our results.

Please, Lord Jesus, die for someone else, someone whose sin is more spectacular, more deserving of such supreme sacrifice. We don’t want the responsibility. Really, Lord, is our unrighteousness so very serious? Are we such sinners that You should need to die for us?

Really, if You look at the larger picture, our sin, at least my sin, is so inconsequential. You are making too big a deal out of such meager rebellion. We don’t want Your blood on our hands. We don’t want our lives in any way to bear the burden of Your death. Really. Amen. 

-- Will Willimon in “The Best of Will Willimon”

#6339

THE ANSWER TO OUR DEEPEST NEED

If we are honest, we would have to admit that we all do things that we know are wrong.  Sometimes we do things for which we are deeply ashamed.  More than that, there is a self-centeredness about our lives which spoils them.  Jesus said, "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean'." (Mark 7:20-23)

Our greatest need is for forgiveness. Just as a man who has cancer needs a doctor whether he realizes it or not, so we need forgiveness whether we realize it or not. Just as with cancer, the man who recognizes his need is far better off than the person who is lulled into a false sense of security.

By His death on the cross Jesus made it possible for us to be forgiven and brought back into a relationship with God.  In this way He supplied the answer to our deepest need. 

-- Nicky Gumble in the Alpha Course booklet "Why Jesus?" 

#5819

LOOK AT JESUS

Jesus looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”  (John 17:1-3 NIV)

If you want to know who God is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what it means to be human, look at Jesus. If you want to know what love is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what grief is, look at Jesus. [If you want to know who understands your suffering, look at Jesus.] And go on looking until you’re not just a spectator, but you’re actually part of the drama which has Him as the central character. 

– Adapted from N. T. Wright

#5692

IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH

"To them Jesus presented Himself alive after His passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God."  (Acts 1:3)

When people say, "I'll be there in spirit" what they really mean is "I won't be there."   When modern people say of Jesus Christ, "The true meaning of the myth of the resurrection is that Jesus lives on in our hearts and thoughts" what they really mean is "Jesus is dead as a doornail."  The New Testament has no patience with such sentimental claptrap.   It bluntly denies that Jesus of Nazareth "lives on in our memories" in that watery, sentimental… way of speaking.   It asserts rather that Jesus of Nazareth rose in a glorified body that could eat fish, be touched, and break bread.   This seems terribly crass, crude, and physical to a world that wants to reduce all "spirituality" to odorless, colorless, platonic ideas.   But then the world tends to do this because it fears the biggest and dirtiest secret of all: death, which is a crass, crude and physical thing.   Jesus came to be with us in spirit and in truth.   And so, when He rose on Easter, He did not rise merely "in spirit" but in truth as well.   God defeated the stink, rot, and worms of death, not just the "idea" of it. And He proved it by saying, "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have" (Luke 24:39).   And because He really did rise bodily, we shall too, if we remain in Him. 

-- Mark Shea and Jeff Cavins 

#5582

WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE?

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.”  (1 Peter 3:18 NIV)

To understand why Jesus had to die it is important to remember both the Result of the Cross (costly forgiveness of sins) and the Pattern of the Cross (reversal of the world’s values). On the cross neither justice nor mercy loses out -- both are fulfilled at once. Jesus’ death was necessary if God was going to take justice seriously and still love us. This same concern for both love and justice should mark all our relationships. We should never acquiesce in injustice. Jesus identified with the oppressed. Yet we should not try to overcome evil with evil. Jesus forgave His enemies and died for them.

Why then, did Jesus have to die? Even Jesus asked that question. In the Garden of Gethsemane He asked if there was any other way. There wasn’t. There isn’t. On the cross, in agony, He cried out the question, “Why!?” Why was He being forsaken? Why was it all necessary? The answer of the Bible is -- for us! 

-- Timothy Keller in “The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism” 

#5575

A UNIQUE DEATH FOR A UNIQUE MAN

“Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed.”  (Luke 23:32 NIV)

Though we find it hard and even repulsive to imagine, Jesus was only one of many people tortured to death by crucifixion. He had two companions at the brow of Calvary. But His experience on the cross included several added sobering features. A unique death for a unique man:

First, it was shameful. He was stripped of His clothing and pinned naked between heaven and earth. There’s no mention of the soldiers casting lots for the clothing of the other victims. He was ridiculed by the crowds and taunted by one of the criminals. Jesus suffered the humiliation of the sign posted over His head that attempted to mock His claim to be king.

Second, He was absolutely innocent -- and He could prove it! He was there by choice. The nails didn’t keep Him on the cross. His decision to remain there was stronger than His desire to avoid the pain. Think for a moment how tempting it must have been to have a self-pity party.

Third, Jesus bore the sins of the world -- including yours and mine -- on the cross.

Fourth, He sensed the forsaking action of God as His Father turned away from Him, covered as He was in our sins. 

-- Neil Wilson

#5574

PALM WAVING

“The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, 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 12:12-16 NIV)

The coupling of Palm Sunday on the same week in Jesus’ life as Good Friday (a name betwixt in paradox) is playing to our temptations as I’m sure it played for Jesus even more profoundly. The fanfare that might come with a noble life, let’s say, might give us gratification and notoriety. Jesus knew about fleeting applause better than anyone, but He also understands fickle hearts. He understands our hearts in the first order, given the turn of events that leads to His death. In a true sense, our lives must follow Jesus through His passion. We must see His suffering and our need. If we stay on the street corner waving palms, we won’t understand either one. 

-- Zach Kincaid, from an article called “Palm Waving” on www.cslewis.com

#5571

ONCE FOR ALL TIME

“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but He was raised to life in the Spirit.”  (1 Peter 3:18 NLT)

Most victories are only temporary. Whoever wins the Super Bowl or the World Series this year will have to go out and compete for the championship again next year. An artist who wins the Grammy for Song of the Year this year must try to outdo herself next year. The same is true for an actor who wins a coveted Oscar. And every patient who is given a clean bill of health from his doctor today knows there will be other illnesses he’ll have to contend with in the future. But never again will our Lord have to contend with sin and death. Romans 6:10 (NIV) says, “He died once to defeat sin, and now He lives for the glory of God.” 

-- Mark Atteberry in “Free Refill: Coming Back for More of Jesus”

#4962

WE SEE JESUS

"But we do see Jesus… now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”  (Hebrews 2:9)

"But we do see Jesus….” This is the first time the book of Hebrews mentions the personal name of Jesus. All along the way, we knew who the author was talking about, making references to God’s Son, but now we also see His name: Jesus.

So now we can also focus on the person of Jesus. In saying His name, we think of His human nature; we think of Jesus as a person.

Jesus became a human being, lower than the angels for a while -- but only until He entered again into the full glory of God in heaven. He was lower than the angels for a specific purpose: to suffer death and to “taste death for everyone.” In Philippians 2 the Bible speaks of Jesus humbling Himself to the point of death on a cross. Here the writer of Hebrews points out that Jesus was made lower than the angels “for a little while” so that He could suffer death for us. As a result, He is “crowned with glory and honor.”

Jesus, God’s Son who is superior to the angels, was made lower than them for a while so that He could suffer death for us by the grace of God. And now and forever we, who were once lost, see Jesus. God’s Son, Jesus, our Savior, lowered Himself to taste death for our sake so that we would not have to fear death and suffering.

-- Brian Kuyper, from the blog “Today”

#4822

A STEADY RESOLUTION

“Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, ‘This Man is calling for Elijah!’  Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. The rest said, ‘Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.’ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.’”  (Matthew 27:45-50 NKJV)

Jesus died by a voluntary act of His own, and in a way peculiar to Himself. He alone of all men that ever were, could have continued alive even in the greatest tortures, as long as He pleased, or have retired from the body whenever He had thought fit. And how does it illustrate that love which He manifested in His death insomuch as He did not use His power to quit His body, as soon as it was fastened to the cross, leaving only an insensible corpse, to the cruelty of His murderers: but continued His abode in it, with a steady resolution, as long as it was proper. He then retired from it, with a majesty and dignity never known or to be known in any other death: dying, if one may so express it, like the Prince of Life.

-- John Wesley

#4818

THE ANSWER TO OUR DEEPEST NEED

If we are honest, we would have to admit that we all do things that we know are wrong.  Sometimes we do things for which we are deeply ashamed.  More than that, there is a self-centeredness about our lives which spoils them.  Jesus said, "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean'." (Mark 7:20-23)

Our greatest need is for forgiveness. Just as a man who has cancer needs a doctor whether he realizes it or not, so we need forgiveness whether we realize it or not. Just as with cancer, the man who recognizes his need is far better off than the person who is lulled into a false sense of security.

By His death on the cross Jesus made it possible for us to be forgiven and brought back into a relationship with God.  In this way He supplied the answer to our deepest need.

-- Nicky Gumbel in the Alpha Course booklet "Why Jesus?"


#4675

THE SPIRIT OF JESUS

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." (Acts 4:31)

Without Pentecost the Christ-event -- the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus -- remains imprisoned in history as something to remember, think about and reflect on. The Spirit of Jesus comes to dwell within us, so that we can become living Christs here and now.

-- Henri Nouwen

#4607

GOD VISITED THE EARTH

“For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in [Christ], and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.”  (Colossians 1:19-20 NIV)

The Gospel has a once-and-for-all quality. It is unique. There is nothing like it in history or in any other world religion…  God visited the earth.

That says it all! God visited the earth in Jesus Christ who lived and died and rose again for our salvation, who ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts and community of Christian believers. That is the Gospel, the Christ-event, the foundation of our faith. It happened once and need not happen again. All that we Christians believe is based on it.

-- Rev. Dr. A. Leonard Griffith in a sermon entitled "The Faith Entrusted to Us" 


#4574

JESUS MADE HIMSELF NOTHING

Jesus was never one to let danger or the threat of discomfort keep Him from doing the right thing. In fact, that’s how He ended up on earth in the first place! Philippians 2:6-8 says, “Though He was God, He did not demand and cling to His rights as God. He made Himself nothing; He took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form He obediently humbled Himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.”

I love the phrase “He made Himself nothing.” Do you realize how rare that is? The average person in our me-first world can’t even begin to grasp the concept. We’re programmed to defend our interests, fight for our rights, and pursue our own agendas -- and then scream bloody murder if someone gets in our way.

But Jesus made Himself nothing. He put other people’s needs ahead of His own. He fought for other people’s rights, while allowing His enemies to walk all over His. And the only agenda He ever pursued was the one that was going to open the door to Heaven for pathetic sinners like you and me.

-- Mark Atteberry in “Free Refill: Coming Back for More of Jesus"

#4299

‘WHAT-IF?’ PEOPLE

Cheryl Forbes once said people who live imaginative lives are ‘what-if?’ people. They respond to ideas and events with a ‘what-if?’ attitude. They behave in ‘what-if?’ ways. ‘What-if?’ is a big idea, as big as God, for it is the practice of God. Our God thinks, “What if I make the universe? What if I make people in my own image? What if, when they sin, I don’t give up on them?”

Jesus comes to people and invites us to be ‘what-if?’ people. He said to His early followers, “I want you to imagine a kingdom -- the real magic kingdom. Imagine a kingdom where the last are first, the least are greatest, the servants are heroes, the weak are strong, and the marginalized are loved and cherished. Imagine a world where outsiders become insiders, where people who lose their lives end up finding them, where people who die to themselves and their guilt and their sin and their selfishness end up being brought to life. Imagine that your little broken story can become part of a larger story that ends well.”

Then in the most unimaginable moment in human history, Jesus said to Himself, “What if I die on a cross and take on Myself all that sin and all that suffering and all that pain and all that guilt and all that death that now crushes the human race?” And He did it. They put His body in a tomb, and three days later God said to Jesus, “Now what if You get up?” He got up, and death has never been the same. Life has never been the same.

-- John Ortberg in “All the Places You Go”


#4080

ASKING QUESTIONS IN GRIEVING

As you journey through [the] early part of the process of grieving loss and growing spiritually, finding good companions to travel with you can be crucial. A fitting person for this part of the discovery is someone who is good at asking questions and can help you name the various dimensions of the loss you are experiencing.

The story of the early church as recorded in the book of Acts begins with many questions. When Jesus died, those who had followed Him needed to discover the meaning of His death by naming what they had lost. They wondered with the risen Christ if His death meant the coming of the new Israel (Acts 1:6). As He ascended, men in white robes asked [the disciples], “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?” What did His life mean? The meaning of Jesus’ life became clear only in the exploration of what His followers experienced in the emptiness of His absence.

-- Dan Moseley in Lose, Love, Live: The Spiritual Gifts of Loss and Change. Copyright © 2010 by Dan Moseley. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books.

#4059

OVERCOMING THE FEAR OF DEATH

"Jesus became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could Jesus deliver those who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying." (Hebrews 2:14b-15 NLT)

C. S. Lewis wrote that he was surprised how much grief felt like fear. We live constantly with the fear of death. When death does occur… the feelings of grief come to the surface and magnify the fear that has been there all along. But the Bible teaches us that we can be freed from the bondage of this fear.

-- Phyllis J. Le Peau in Caring for People in Grief

#3946

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

RESURRECTION POWER

"God will raise our bodies from the dead by His marvelous power, just as He raised our Lord from the dead." (Ephesians 6:14 NLT)

Think about the greatest manifestation of power you could witness.  Perhaps a hurricane or tornado came to mind, maybe an earthquake or an atomic bomb.  I read about something more powerful than any of these.  On May 18, 1980, there was an incredible explosion, estimated at 500 times the force of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.  The blast ripped 1,200 feet off the top of a 9,700-foot volcano named Mount Saint Helens.  Within one minute a cloud of ash blocked out the sun.  Sports Illustrated reported that the "heat, blast and ash destroyed 26 lakes, 154 miles of resident trout streams and 195 square acres of wildlife habitat."

That display of raw power is impressive.  However, the Bible tells us that the presence of our God could make not only Mount Saint Helens crumble but also all the mountains known on earth.  The psalmist wrote, "The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth" (Psalm 97:5, NLT).  God is an awesome and powerful God, Creator of both heaven and earth.  Ephesians teaches us that the greatest manifestation of God's power was not for destruction but for the resurrection of Christ from the dead!

-- Lenya Heitzig and Penny Pierce Rose in Pathway to God's Treasure: Ephesians


#3631