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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
I offered my back to those who beat
me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from
mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be
disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.
Isaiah
50:6-9
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
It’s been less than two months
since our remembrance of Christ’s arrest, brutal beatings during His time of
captivity, and His eventual execution by crucifixion on Calvary’s cross, a
criminal’s punishment applied to a totally righteous and innocent man.
And yet, it feels like things have
returned to business as usual. Spring has brought warmer temperatures amid
nicer weather and with the days longer now, life has moved onto outdoor
pleasantries and celebrations.
Easter, you see, seems to wash away
the angst we feel while building up to it. We don’t like to be reminded that
our salvation was bought at a high price as Jesus endured the suffering that
should have been on us. We can’t wait to get past Jesus saying, “It is finished”,
by getting to the empty tomb and the angels proclaiming, “He is not here. He
has risen!”
But we must remember. We cannot
allow ourselves to lose sight of the depth in sacrifice Jesus went to out of
love for us, willing to be tortured and humiliated and eventually murdered
while bearing our sins and bringing justification to those who place their
faith and trust in Him. The reason why we can’t forget is found inside our
scripture passage today from Isaiah 50. For although Jesus suffered, He knew He
would always be in the hands of God, His Father and ours, and because of that,
would be cared for, even in the midst of great hardship. Look at these words,
spoken by Christ Himself:
I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled
out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the
Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up. Isaiah 50:6-9
Jesus took the abuse inflicted upon
Him. He did not resist when beaten but rather willingly offered His back to the
assailants. He did not turn a cheek when attackers pulled out His beard. He
didn’t hide His face from the disrespectful, degrading mocking and spitting
brought upon Him by the soldiers and general public. He was scorned and
ridiculed, derided and scoffed at, scourged and mistreated but He was not
disgraced or shamed
God ensured that.
He was falsely accused and
sentenced to death. And yet, He was not truly guilty but rather vindicated.
God ensured that.
And He did not stay dead but rather
was helped to conquer it and the grave, resurrected in mighty power, triumphant over all
that had been done to Him, free from any real condemnation. His suffering ended
up leading to divine victory and coronation to a place of authority over all
creation where He would simply be known as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
God ensured that.
So why the recap? Why do we need to
be reminded of all this?
Because if we fully commit
ourselves to what we are called to do as Christians, we will end up suffering
for the cause of God the Father and Jesus His Son in the course of our
lifetime. We may end up abused, ridiculed, threatened, or even killed for the
cause of the Gospel. Jesus Himself warned His disciples that because He was
hated, they would be hated as well. Indeed, as we have seen even in our present
day, His words have come to life as truth as many Christians around the world have
been slaughtered simply because of their faith and trust in Jesus.
Maybe this would sound a little
harrowing and depressing without the added assurances in our scripture today,
more words from the mouth of Jesus. For although we may face adversity for the
cause of Christ, adversity that might bring varying degrees of danger with it,
like Jesus we are never disgraced, shamed, or condemned, but rather vindicated
before God the Father because of Jesus, His Son and our Savior. For when we
have placed our full faith, hope, and trust in Him, there will be no
condemnation (Romans 8:1). Instead, there will only be victory for us, no
matter how things may end in this life on earth, all because Jesus chose to
suffer and die for us, paying the penalty we deserved out of love, so that we
one day might be able to see Him face to face and live with Him forever when we
are resurrected to the promised life eternal.
One of the pastors I have respected
most in life once said, “You can’t have the resurrection without the
crucifixion.” Let us never forget the great suffering Jesus endured on our
behalf in order to bring us the chance for everlasting life. And never let us
forget that when we go forth to do our kingdom work in His name, we will never
be disgraced, shamed, or condemned because the Lord is with us, reminding us
that we are helped, vindicated and victorious through Christ.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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