On this Good Friday I’d like to share a thought with you and then share some posts with you that I’ve enjoyed recently. HERE is a great background to reading for today.
Predicament
What sort of predicament are you and I in that we should require the crucifixion of the Son of God? …The gravity of sin was so great that no correspondence in heaven or earth was weighty enough except the self offering of the Son of God - not by the swift guillotine blade, but by submitting to the degradation of crucifixion.— Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion
What sort of predicament are we in? That is a perplexing question. Unless I have underestimated us, I think many of us regard our own sin as an occasional mistake. We think of the slip-ups and miss-steps and sigh and we are thankful God has provided forgiveness for us. I doubt we often confront the bitter reality that the magnitude of our sin is such that the only solution was the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
And it had to be on a cross. Why couldn’t Jesus die in a painless manner? A swift and honorable death would work, wouldn’t it? Why the inhumane degradation of the cross? Because it wasn’t an even trade. It wasn’t one life for another, it was the sinless and guiltless Lamb exchanged for the corrupt and powerless sinners. It was the power of sin over humanity, heaved onto the writhing and crucified Christ in such a manner that it caused him to cry out from his strained and gasping lips, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” And then, He was finished.
Romans 5:10 relates that sin is such a powerful force, we have no ability to save ourselves. In our unsaved state of being an enemy of God, He moved into action to answer for the corrupting power of sin. He did it by using that very power to overcome the Enemy. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
Only Christ could save us. Only Christ could bear that weight. Only Christ could intercept humanity, damned and without recourse.
All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone. - Rock of Ages, by Augustus Toplady. That’s the predicament we are in, and the cross is the only answer. Jesus remains our only hope. - John Dobbs
Excellent Posts for Your Easter Weekend
Bread and Wine, Body and Blood by Rex Butts
Bad Fridays and Good Sundays by Paul Tripp
I Thirst by Mike Crow
Crux Sola by Cody Ilardo
From The Holy Lens: Good Friday
For a smile or three: Forget the Bunny, It’s About Resurrection by Garrison Keillor
Thanks for reading. I look forward to the Sunday Night Check-In after our Resurrection Day weekend. I pray you experience hope as you contemplate the empty tomb. God bless.
Thanks, John. What a great post. This season, God has been me reflecting upon the Roman mode of execution. They were professionals, of course. And crucifixion on a cross was intended for the poor and for slaves. Jesus was our servant. Cf 2 Corinthians 5.17-21
Good stuff, sir.