Cross

Advent 2020 – Isaiah 8:11-15 (Dec. 10)

December 10, 2020 By Joe Leave a Comment

Isaiah 8:12–13

[12] “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. [13] But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. (ESV)

2020 could safely be called the year of conspiracies. For example: who started Covid19? Did the presidential election get stolen? Are socialists threatening to overturn our country? Is the New World Order about to overturn our world?

How much time have you invested in the news or alternate news, worrying about conspiracies or speaking about them with family members, neighbors and friends?

Conspiracies are nothing new. Back in the early ministry of Isaiah the prophet, conspiracies about foreign powers aligning together against Judah caused the hearts of the people to melt with fear. God spoke to Isaiah and said, “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy” (12). It was central to God’s way that His people not waste their energy on conspiracy theories. Instead they are to live their lives in the fear of the LORD, or, as God said, “Let [the LORD of Hosts] be your dread” (13).

We don’t typically think of responding to the Lord God with dread. That seems inappropriate somehow. But for some reason we think that dread of foreign powers invading or foreign powers sending a virus our way is somehow a responsible action. No, the only thing that makes sense is to put those conspiracies on the scale with the LORD of Hosts and responding to the Lord as the Sovereign King and Master of our lives. To dread Him is to live in awe of Him and respond to His way in this world. He says He will be a sanctuary to all who fear Him.

For those who do not respond by fearing the LORD, God says He will be a rock of offense, a stone of stumbling, a trap and a snare to them. If any of us disregard God, thinking we can ignore Him, we’ll find ourselves tripping over Him to our own destruction.

When Paul refers to Isaiah 8:11-15 in Romans 9:32-33, or when Peter refers to the “rock of offense” in 1 Peter 2:8, both men are referring to Christ. And here’s how all this relates to Advent: Christ did not go from the cradle to Paradise. No, He went from the cradle to the cross. Most of the world finds celebration of the baby Jesus just fine. Sentimental, culturally acceptable, traditional. But the cross is offensive. It deals with the scandalous, unacceptable news that our sin cannot be ignored. It must be punished. Advent reminds us of the hard truth that Jesus came to die for our sin. If you run to that stone of solid ground, you’ll be safe. If you try to ignore the Christ on the cross, you’ll trip over it eventually and be crushed.

These things may be hard to understand, so we’ll look at them again over the next two days of devotions. But what is clear is this: Christ came to die for sinners. This is God’s way.

Do you know that you are a sinner?

Do you trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ alone for your salvation?

Following Jesus Through Holy Week – Saturday

April 11, 2020 By Joe

“How can we follow Jesus when He lies dead in a tomb?” must have gone through the minds of the disciples after Good Friday.

Recorded events are few and far between of that Saturday, the Sabbath in between Christ’s death and resurrection. What is recorded reveals things about the people still living and challenges us today.

Here is the record of what happened on Saturday:

A group of women disciples prepare spices and ointments for the body of Jesus (Luke 23:54-56)
The Chief Priests and Pharisees plot to guard the tomb of Jesus (Matt. 27:62-66)

Luke 23:54–56

[54] It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. [55] The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. [56] Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. (ESV)

Matthew 27:62–66

[62] The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate [63] and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ [64] Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” [65] Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” [66] So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. (ESV)

What can we learn from these texts?

So many people in Jerusalem were affected by the death of Jesus. As Saturday dawned they were still shaken by all that He had endured. Basically, two groups of people emerge on that Saturday, just like two groups still emerge today:

The Enemies of Christ – Matthew alone records a secret meeting that occurred between the religious Pharisees and Pilate, the Roman ruler who tried Jesus as guiltless yet sent Him to the cross. The Pharisees feared not that Jesus would rise from the dead but that His disciples would steal His body from the tomb it had been placed in and so fool everyone that Jesus was alive. In their view, Jesus was only a fraud, and they would not permit more fraud in the wake of His death. Pilate told them to take their own Temple guards and set them up at the tomb. They sealed the stone around Jesus’s tomb, established guards to watch and then wiped their hands of the whole affair.

The Followers of Christ – Just as Jesus had predicted, the Shepherd was struck down dead and the sheep scattered. Yet two scenes reveal disciples who had remained in the background due to various reasons yet now seem emboldened with courage and faith.

Joseph of Arimathea was said to be a follower of Jesus, but a “secret” disciple for fear of what the Pharisees would think (John 19:38). His life up to this point has been ruled by a mixture of fear of man and faith in Jesus. He’s been a slave to allure of image and the approval of people. Nicodemus, who accompanied Joseph, is no better. This is perhaps why he had waited until the cloak of night to approach Jesus initially (John 3). Yet in a surprising move, Joseph and Nicodemus go into the court of Pilate to request the body of Jesus, remove the body from the cross, cover and fill the body with 75 pounds of ointment then place the body into a new tomb in a beautiful garden.
The women, identified as Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joses, followed Joseph and Nicodemus to see where the tomb was located, then went home to prepare more ointment and burial spices for the body. The gospel records them as resting on the Sabbath yet ready to go to the tomb early Sunday morning to anoint the body of Jesus.

Application:

The cross of Jesus is the crossroads of life. You cannot view the selfless sacrifice of Jesus and walk away the same. Either you will be hardened in your heart, not wanting the public image of what your sin has done, or you will be broken, not wanting to continue as a slave to your sin and seeing in Jesus your only hope.
There is power in the cross to transform fearful disciples into bold followers. Joseph and Nicodemus loved the approval of men, but Christ’s sacrifice showed them the emptiness of their lives. Ultimately by seeing what Jesus had done, Joseph and Nicodemus were emboldened to do the right thing, even if it led to their public shame or death. Look to the cross! Focus on what Jesus endured, and ask Him to continue transforming your life to resemble His.
There is also grace in waiting. Waiting when life is hard and going forward seems impossible. I love the example of the two Marys. They show us that faith in God (as seen in their obedience to the Sabbath command) is doing the next right thing even when their world around them is falling apart.
Ultimately Jesus too is resting. Six days shall we labor but the seventh is the Lord’s. Jesus all during Holy Week has worked. Now His body rests until He takes it up again on Resurrection Day.

Prayer:

Lord, we thank You for the power of Your cross. No time you spent on earth was wasted. The power of Your life on the lives of others shines forth even when all was dark. Please comfort hearts that are troubled today. Give grace for courage. Help us to remember your promise of resurrection!

Worship:

God Rested by Andrew Peterson

Following Jesus Through Holy Week – Friday

April 10, 2020 By Joe

Good Friday.

Some ask why it’s called “good.” That’s what we’ll learn and apply today.

Here’s an outline of what happened on Friday¹:

Betrayal and Arrest (Matt. 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12)
Jesus tried before Jewish Authorities (John 18:13-24; Matt. 26:57-27:2; Mark 14:53-15:1; Luke 22:54-71; John 18:19-24)
Jesus tried before Roman Officials (Matt. 27:2-26; Mark 15:2-15; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-19:16)
Jesus is Crucified – approx. 9am to 3pm (Matt. 27:27-54; Mark 15:16-39; Luke 23:26-49; John 19:16-37)
The body of Jesus is placed in the Tomb (Matt. 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:38-42)

Mark 15:33–39

[33] And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. [34] And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [35] And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” [36] And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” [37] And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. [38] And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. [39] And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (ESV)

What can we learn from this text?

For roughly six hours Jesus hung on His cross. The Gospels help us understand that from 9am to 3pm Jesus suffered on the cross between two criminals and surrounded by Roman soldiers who gambled for His clothing and a mixture of people who loved Him and hated Him.

Yet something happened at noon that intensified His suffering and lasted for the remaining 3 hours. Darkness settled over the whole land when typically light is at its brightest. What did this signify? According to God’s Word darkness like this signifies God’s judgment (Amos 8:9-10; Joel 3:15) and the lowest point of human existence. Jesus suffered not only at the hands of wicked men who judged Him unfairly and nailed Him to the cross; Jesus suffered under the almighty wrath of His Father. This was the “cup” that Jesus desired not to drink, but it was the cup He willingly drank for lost sinners. All the wrath of God for human sinfulness was poured out in full measure on Jesus.

This incomprehensible exchange, God’s wrath emptied into Christ, is the reason Jesus cried out as He did, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

The reason this Friday is called “good” is due to this exchange. You can consider this day in the Holy Week good because it’s the day Jesus took all God’s wrath for your sin. Jesus was forsaken by His Father so that believers never need fear that God will turn away from them. Have you trusted in Jesus for this exchange? You must believe, not merely that He died. You must believe that He died for your sins and received the full wrath of God that you deserved. Call out to Jesus that you believe and that you turn from your sin today to follow Him.

Application:

Jesus endured such terrible physical pain and torture during Friday. Can you identify some of the affliction He endured in the passages for today?
Remember, Jesus never ran from the physical suffering. Many times He could have. He even said if He asked, God would send 12 legions of angels at once to deliver Him (Matt. 26:53). Jesus did ask if there was any other way than to drink the full cup of God’s wrath and thus be separated from His Father for the first time in all eternity. Yet even this Jesus did not run from. He endured all that wrath for sinners and loved them to the cross.
Jesus of course did not stay dead! But it is fitting on this Good Friday to allow the weight of what Jesus suffered to affect our hearts and our feelings. Take time to meditate on the suffering of our Lord today, knowing that Resurrection Day will come as Jesus predicted.

Prayer:

Oh, most Holy Jesus, how have You sinned to be afflicted so by Your Father’s holy wrath? Certainly, You did not sin. We are guilty. It should have been us who suffered and suffered eternally. But You took the wrath and bore the shame of our sin. Thank You for loving us so deeply. Thank You for obeying even to the point of death on the cross. Amen.

Worship:

Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted

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1. Crossway is currently offering free access to their ESV Study Bible. To access the Harmony of the Holy Week Chart, simply sign up for that resource, and even more, from Crossway.