Friday, October 22, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Power of the Cross
I am posting this today not because I have all the time in the world to write something but because I badly want to take a break from the busy schedule that my college has to offer me. Overcrowded with thoughts of what to do, how to do, record work, assessments and project submission dates etc. etc. ( let alone the semester exam that is drawing nearer ).. And so I decide to give brainstorm a miss right now and do some soul-searching.
Continuing from where I left about ‘sin’ in one of my previous blog posts, I would like to share about the 3 reasons why Jesus had to come to the Earth, take up the Cross, die and rise again on the third day.(This is also one of the messages shared in the college prayer cell.)
When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost the intimate relationship that they had with God and as a result the entire mankind that followed them suffered its consequences. Hence, Jesus had to leave His place on High and come for sinful man to die, to bring us back in relationship with Him.
I personally think it is very important for us to know about His purpose of coming to this Earth because this Man (He took the human form to come to Earth) had such a powerful command over the entire World History (well, History = His Story!!), so much so that the year calendar was divided into AD and BC just because of His birth!
1) Why did Jesus have to die?
The Bible says in Romans 5:12, “... just as through one man(Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
Why death through sin? Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Since, we all have sinned, we all deserve death and the hell fire but Jesus being the gracious God that He is, took upon Himself the punishment that we had to bear and died for us.
How will His death mean our sins being forgiven? The Bible answers that too. It says that if only we believe that Jesus paid the price for our sins on the Cross, we will be forgiven and made righteous. Romans 5:19 says, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man (Jesus)’s obedience many will be made righteous.”
If God is so much against sin, how does He treat us, the sinners?
Jesus considers us as the sheep of His flock and tells us, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. (John 10:11)” Wow... what a loving God we have!! He loves His people (sinners) but hates sin. Why hate sin? Because sin makes His people go astray!!
2) Why did Jesus choose the Cross?
Ok. He had to die. But why chose the Cross? There are many other ways to die too. We need to know that everything God did had a greater plan behind it.
In the Old Testament of the Bible (the portion of the Bible written before the birth of Jesus), there was a law among the people which said, “For he who is hanged (on a tree) is cursed of God. (Deuteronomy 21:23)” Thus, by taking the Cross, Jesus took upon Himself all our curses.
Another reason would be this: The entry point for sin into the world was when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the ‘TREE’ that God had forbidden them. God wanted to show Satan and sin the exit door by taking up the Cross (made of wood from tree!! Wah!!)
3) Why was He whipped by the soldiers?
Jesus received a number of beatings while being mocked and ridiculed by the people who crucified Him. They buffeted, smote and did strike Him. Why? Isaiah 53:5 and 1 peter 2:24 in the Bible tells us that “by His stripes, we are healed”... yeah... healed spiritually and physically. Jesus literally bore our sicknesses. Every beating and blow to my Jesus’ body was for my healing. Bible scholars say that Jesus received 39 stripes and guess what; medical science says that there are exactly 39 categories of diseases on earth. One stripe for each category!! Wow… my God is an awesome planner…
I do not know how painful it was for Him to endure all this, all I know is that it was more painful than I can ever imagine. I know that what He bore is more than enough to cover all of my past, present and even future sins. He bore it all, everything, and He has redeemed me from every curse of the law. And I know that by those stripes, I am healed. It is complete. It is done. It is finished. He accomplished it all for me... And I can never thank Him enough…
Yes, dear friend. Jesus died for our sins, sicknesses and curses because of His love which is so wonderful. All we need to do is BELIEVE, ACCEPT AND RUN TO RECEIVE IT. It is a free gift.
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