Reflections on the Cross

This past weekend was the holiday that we take time to remember what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross. He suffered wrath of a holy God in our place.  In a time that I was a enemy, running as far away as I could, sinning to satisfy my lustful desires, the Lord God sent his only son into the world to pay the penalty for my sins.  The thought of that makes me stop in my tracks and just give thanks!!  This past week I spent some time reading through the crucifixion accounts and doing some study of what happened to the body during a death of that nature.  I would like to share a few thoughts with you.  The first thing that caught my attention is in Matthew’s account he states that Christ “Gave us his spirit.”  Wow!  Even in the midst of all of what had happened in he past 24 hours of his life, he was still in control. He is still the one who created the universe and is still in control…willingly lying down his life for the people who were putting him through all that torture.  Speaking of that torture, I read a couple of articles discussing from a medical perspective what happened to his body during the 24 hours both physically and emotionally.  These articles where not easy reading by any stretch of the imagination, but they really put into perspective what happened to my Savior.  From the flogging which a lot of people didn’t live through, to the thorns being driven into the his head, to being forced to carry a 125 lbs cross 300 yards, to having big, square nails driven in between the carpal bones of the wrist right next to the median nerve, to all of the torment the body goes through by hanging on the cross. One of the extraordinary physiological things that happened to Him was in the garden the night before.  While he was praying he had drops of blood dripping off his forehead.  What? Is this possible?  Yes, in the medical literature there are several cases of people with extreme stress having their capillaries in the forehead busting and mixing with the sweat that is coming down the forehead.  What stress my Savior we going through?  I have been pretty stressed before, I have seen people who are really stressed, but I don’t think I have ever seen anyone that is even coming close to having the phenomenon happen.  Now that begs the question, why was he so stressed?  As the God/Man he know what was going to be happening to him, so was it all of the physical torture he was about to endure?  Was it all the false insults and accusations, betraying, and injustice he was about to receive from his own chosen people?   That may have been part of the stress, but I think there was something else He was dreading even more!  As I read through the saying he said of the cross he said a couple things that point to the most painful thing.  First He cried, “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”  That was the key!  From eternity past he had lived with perfect communion with His father, and at that moment he had eternal separation from him.  That was the first thing that he didn’t want to lose, the relationship with His father.  The second saying was, “It is finished”. What was finished?  He had finished His task of taking the wrath of his father in our place.  Not only was He separated from His father, but He had to experience the wrath of His father!  That is what stressed Him out, and that was what he was dreading.  Now think about how many times we ignore our relationship with our Lord so easily.  Was the Son of God crazy for being more stressed over that than all of the physical torment, because if I am honest with myself the physical and emotional things would have been worrying my mind more?  Or, did he have/know something we do have/know?  I think the latter is true.  He has a relationship with the Father, we can’t even imagine, but I want!  I pray the Lord will grant me the grace to grow in my relationship with him so it may come close to that type of relationship.  The first step I believe we can all take is to live in light of the cross everyday, not just once a year.  When living from the perspective of the shadows of the cross, life seems to make more sense!  It reminds us of what our Savior did for us.  It put life’s difficulties in perspective, and allows us to remember that the Lord is in control.  It helps remind us that the purpose for living…Glorifying the One who is worthy!  I pray you will take practical steps today to help you remember the cross and what happened on the cross. 
 
Live in light of the Cross,
Pastor Matt

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