LookingtoJesus

May 6

Bible Reading: John 19:1-16

John 19:2, “And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.”

Close to 30 million viewers watched the coronation of King Charles in May 2023.  The crown he wore that day was St. Edward’s Crown (commissioned for King Charles II in 1661) and was made of solid gold and studded with 444 stones (including rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnets, topaz, and tourmalines).  It had an estimated value of almost $60 million.  Jesus, the King of the Jews, wore no such crown as He made His way to the cross.  A group of anonymous Roman soldiers designed and crafted His crown with thorns instead of gold and jewels.

Rome spared no cruelty in their torment of criminals.  Pilate had Jesus scourged by his soldiers.  They did this with a whip that had iron and nails embedded.  Sometimes the scourging would continue until it reached the point of exposing bones.  After torturing Him in that way, the Roman soldiers mocked Him.  They had heard the accusation of the claim He was the King of the Jews, so they fashioned a crown of thorns.  Thorns are plentiful in that land, so it didn’t take long for them to gather them and weave them into a crown.  They pressed that instrument of torture into his forehead until more pain and bleeding ensued, and then mocked the One who was soon to bear their sins.

Thorns came into existence after the fall of Adam and Eve and are emblems of the curse of sin (Genesis 3:18).  Crowns symbolize one’s right to rule or supremacy over some sphere of influence.  Unknowingly, those callous soldiers declared, with their crude crown, Jesus to be the supreme curse bearer.  Let’s not forget that as the soldiers wove that crown of thorns, every detail of this passion account was woven ahead of time by God Himself (Acts 2:23).  It was the divine Son of God, in full subjection to the Father, who allowed Himself to be adorned in such a humble array.  And He did that out of love for you and me.

“What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered was all for sinner’s gain; Mine, mine was the transgression, But Thine the deadly pain!”—Bernard of Clairvaux

O SACRED HEAD, NOW WOUNDED
O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, Thine only crown.
O sacred Head, what glory,
what bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine.

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered
was all for sinners’ gain;
mine, mine was the transgression,
but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
‘Tis I deserve Thy place;
look on me with Thy favor,
vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

What language shall I borrow
to thank Thee, dearest Friend,
for this, Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever!
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
outlive my love for Thee.

Be near when I am dying,
O show Thy cross to me!
And, for my succor flying,
come, Lord, to set me free:
these eyes, new faith receiving,
from Thee shall never move;
for he who dies believing
dies safely in Thy love.

May 3

Bible Reading: John 18:33-40

John 18:39-40, “’But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?’ They cried out again, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas!’ Now Barabbas was a robber.”

Barabbas was a robber.  He committed the crime, underwent trial, and received a sentence.  The penalty in those days was death by crucifixion.  Two fellow robbers would soon meet that same fate.  He was on death row, awaiting punishment, but divine providence was leaning in his direction.  What must have been his thoughts, as his last minutes on earth slipped away?  But the frenzied mob of deranged bargainers opted to make a trade.  Given the opportunity to release their King, who had done no wrong, they chose instead to cry out for the release of Barabbas, who was a robber.

Nothing was of happenstance in the events leading up to the cross.  All took place as prophesied and according “to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23).  And so it was with the release of Barabbas.  The sinless Son of God took the place of the guilty and condemned thief. What took place physically on that day has been the experience spiritually ever since for those who have trusted in Jesus! As a believer, you stand acquitted as the direct result of a divine exchange made possible only through His sacrifice.

Donald Grey Barnhouse has commented on this: “Now Barabbas was the only man in the world who could say that Jesus Christ took his physical place. But I can say that Jesus Christ took my spiritual place. For it is I who deserved to die. It was I who deserved the wrath of God should be poured upon me. I deserved the eternal punishment of the lake of fire. He was delivered up for my offenses. He was handed over to judgment because of my sins. This is why we speak of the substitutionary atonement. Christ was my substitute. He was satisfying the debt of divine justice and holiness. That is why I say that Christianity can be expressed in three phases: I deserved Hell; Jesus took my Hell; there is nothing left for me but His Heaven.”

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”—2 Corinthians 5:21

AT THE CROSS
Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?

Refrain:
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!

Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree! [Refrain]

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin. [Refrain]

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears. [Refrain]

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away
’Tis all that I can do. [Refrain]

May 2

Bible Reading: John 18:25-32

John 18:37-38, “Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate said to him, ‘What is truth?’”

We live in a world where many deny the existence of an absolute truth.  They claim that truth is whatever you believe to be “truth for you” and whatever I believe is “truth for me.”  Conflicting truth claims make for a chaotic world, as is evidenced in our society today. 

“What is truth?”  Pilate raised that question when Jesus stood trial before him.  Gazing at He who embodied the incarnate truth, he could not discern it, and balked at Jesus’ truth claims.  But there is an absolute truth, the truth Jesus came into the world to bear witness to.  When Jesus was put on trial, they also put the truth on trial because Jesus embodies the truth.

Truth is that which conforms with reality.  It is genuineness or actuality.  Theologically, truth is that which is consistent to the person of God, for He is the ultimate reality.  Truth is God’s self-disclosure, and when Jesus was born into the world, the truth was unveiled in Him (John 1:14, 17-18).  Because Jesus is beautiful, the truth is too!

Truth suppression has ever been the spirit of this world (Romans 1:18), but Jesus came to bear witness to the truth.  There are countless voices in this world expressing their scattered opinions and vying for attention, but those who are “of the truth” have ears tuned to hear and heed the voice of Jesus.  And there is beauty in that, no matter what the skeptics say!

“Where I found truth, there found I my God, who is the truth itself.” – Augustine

MY FAITH HAS FOUND A RESTING PLACE
My faith has found a resting place,
from guilt my soul is freed;
I trust the ever-living One,
his wounds for me shall plead.

Refrain:
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
it is enough that Jesus died,
and that he died for me.

Enough for me that Jesus saves,
this ends my fear and doubt;
a sinful soul, I come to him,
he’ll never cast me out. [Refrain]

My heart is leaning on the Word,
the written Word of God,
salvation by my Savior’s name,
salvation thro’ his blood. [Refrain]

My great Physician heals the sick,
the lost he came to save;
for me his precious blood he shed,
for me his life he gave. [Refrain]

May 1

Bible Reading: John 18:12-24

John 18:19, “The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.”

In his excellent book, “A Grace Disguised,” Jerry Sittser shares of his personal experience in the aftermath of the tragedy that took the lives of his mom, wife, and daughter.  A drunk driver, traveling at a high rate of speed, crossed out of his lane and smashed into Jerry’s vehicle.  Obviously, that horrific accident led to much sorrow and many questions.  Shockingly, the trial resulted in the drunk driver being acquitted of charges.  Sometimes life can be so unfair.  It was exceptionally so in the trial of Jesus.    

The trial of Jesus was a sham.  Jewish law set forth certain legal requirements for such trials: no trials were to be conducted at night; they did not allow for the admission of conflicting testimonies; using false witnesses was not permissible; witnesses were to be interviewed separately; charges were to be based on a plurality of corroborating witnesses; the judges were to act impartially.  But in a frenzied passion of hate-inspired rage, the Counsel abandoned all judicial restraint.  The truth was irrelevant and would not deter them.  Jesus’ crime was that He had committed no crime.  The light of His righteous nature had exposed the darkness of their evil hearts.  The only solution, as far as they were concerned, was to put Jesus to death.

That Jesus willingly subjected Himself to such injustice is a matter of profound wonder.  He, who had received nothing but eternal praise from an angelic host, endured the taunts and false accusations of a murderous mob.  The Lawgiver was indicted by the lawless for imagined crimes.  He who would judge all subjected himself to interrogation.  God was on trial, and He made no defense!  Jesus willingly subjected Himself to it all.  1 Peter 2:23 describes His response: “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

Life is not fair; you can count on that sad reality (Ecclesiastes 9:11).  But in best managing your response to unfair treatment, you’ll find no better example than Jesus: “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).  Jesus kept entrusting himself to him who judges justly, and we do well to do the same.  God will have the final say in all that transpires on this planet.  And we can trust Him to strengthen by His grace and justly settle all accounts in due time.

Life is not fair, but God judges justly, and we can trust Him always.

HAVE FAITH IN GOD
Have faith in God when your pathway is lonely.
He sees and knows all the way you have trod;
Never alone are the least of His children;
Have faith in God, have faith in God.

Refrain:
Have faith in God, He’s on His throne,
Have faith in God, He watches over His own;
He cannot fail, He must prevail,
Have faith in God, Have faith in God.

Have faith in God when your prayers are unanswered,
Your earnest plea He will never forget;
Wait on the lord, trust His word and be patient,
Have faith in God. He’ll answer yet. [Refrain]

Have faith in God in your pain and your sorrow,
His heart is touched with your grief and despair;
Cast all your cares and your burdens upon Him,
And leave them there, oh, leave them there. [Refrain]

Have faith in God though all else fall about you;
Have faith in God, He provides for His own:
He cannot fail though all kingdoms shall perish.
He rules. He reigns upon His throne. [Refrain]

April 30

Bible Reading: John 18:7-11

John 18:10-11, “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

You’ve heard the expression, “he brought a knife to a gunfight.” In Peter’s case, it was far worse than that, for he brought a knife to an epic spiritual battle of unrivaled proportion.  And his knife was no help in that battle. 

Despite Jesus’ forewarning regarding the events that were then coming to pass, Peter was without understanding.  His response to Jesus’ arrest?  “He drew (his sword) and struck the priest’s servant and cut off his right ear” (John 18:10).  What was his plan?  Defeat the enemies of Christ “one ear at a time?”  Matthew’s gospel includes the rest of Jesus’ response to Peter’s ill-advised effort: “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place.  For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?  But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so” (Matthew 26:52-54)?  While we might admire Peter for his courage, he was fighting in the wrong way with the wrong weapons.

As followers of Jesus, our King and His kingdom are “not of this world” (John 18:36).  We are called to “fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12), but earthly weapons will not prove helpful.  Instead, God has provisioned us with an arsenal that has “divine power to destroy strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).  Included in that weaponry are the same things Jesus utilized, the Word of God and prayer (1 John 2:14; Ephesians 6:18).  We can only properly employ either to the extent that we are led and empowered by the Spirit.  Otherwise, we might find ourselves, like Peter, fighting the wrong battle with the wrong weapons in pursuit of the wrong objective.

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” – Ephesians 6:11

STANDING ON THE PROMISES
Standing on the promises of Christ, my King,
Through eternal ages let his praises ring;
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain:
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail.
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]

Standing on the promises of Christ, the Lord,
Bound to him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
List’ning ev’ry moment to the Spirit’s call,
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]

April 29

Bible Reading: John 18:1-6

John 18:6, “When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.”

Key to a deeper appreciation of the meaning of the cross is the realization that Jesus’ death was no accident.  In the words of the Apostle Paul, “(He) loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).  Jesus deliberately subjected Himself to it all—the betrayal, arrest, sham trial, beatings, and crucifixion.  It was His love for the Father and for us that worked to bind Him to the cross.

It was a great crowd (in the hundreds), including the chief priests and elders and Roman soldiers, that came to arrest Jesus. They’d likely heard of or witnessed His miracles, so they came en masse bearing swords and clubs.  They were also likely concerned about the response of His followers, hence the size of the arresting company. 

They came with torches to search for him, but He did not hide.  They came with weapons to overcome any resistance, but He did not resist.  He identified Himself to be Jesus of Nazareth, whom they were seeking, by declaring “I am he” (John 18:6).  As in John 4:26 and 8:58, the statement was a declaration of His deity, for which on a previous occasion they attempted to stone Him.  Behold the power of His word, for in making that statement, that great multitude all drew back and fell helpless to the ground like dominos!  It was a miraculous demonstration of His deity, and as such, it unveiled how ill-equipped they were to subdue Him.  They were worse off than the Lilliputians in their attempt to bind Gulliver.

But He nevertheless allowed them to arrest Him.  He could have called to His aid more than “twelve legions of angels” (Matthew 26:53).  Had He chosen to resist, all the armies of the world could not have worked to arrest and bind Him, but He had already, in love for the Father and for you and me, bound Himself to the Father’s will.  It was our sins and His love that worked to bind Jesus to the cross!  And for that, we should be eternally grateful!

“Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of every pleasure and the deepest comfort in every pain.” — John Piper

THE OLD RUGGED CROSS
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary. [Refrain]

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for ‘twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me. [Refrain]

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he’ll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I’ll share. [Refrain]

April 26

Bible Reading: John 17:19-26

John 17:22-23, “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

In June 1990, I was called to serve as pastor of Lewis and Clark Bible Church in Astoria, a church that had previously experienced more than its share of troubles.  A decade earlier, a 50-50 church split had worked to divide the congregation in a terribly divisive way. Many left to attend other churches.  A spirit of disunity remained and prevented the church from making any kind of progress.  In the aftermath of the church split, four pastors came and left, until finally there was talk of closing the doors.  But two men decided instead to pray, and God graciously worked to turn things around.  I was there for the next 27 and ½ years.  But it wasn’t easy, in those early years of ministry, to overcome the damage that had been done.  The church had earned a terrible reputation in the community, and there weren’t many in attendance.  I regularly came across folks who had previously been a part of our church, but then had left because of all the troubles.  It was not a simple task to regain what had been lost. 

God had blessed me with the wonderful examples of godly men leading healthy churches.  My Uncle, Pastor Frank, had offered this simple counsel to me soon after I was called: “preach the Word and love the people.”  An older lady in the church, who had been there through all the troubles, wrote a wonderful letter to the congregation, exhorting them to stop fighting with each other, and to love and care for their pastor and his family (see below).  The two men who had prayed for God’s intervention joined with me in prayer, week-after-week, for God to move and work and rebuild and establish.  As a pastor, I was ever mindful of the need to be diligent “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3, NASB), by looking to the One who had worked unite us. And over the course of time, God blessed, such that we experienced a beautiful spirit of unity in a loving church family, the kind of unity Jesus Himself prayed for!  That kind of perfect kinship is only possible via a right relationship with God and as we walk together in the Spirit paying close attention to the Word (Galatians 5:25-26). 

If we are to experience unity in the horizontal sphere (in relationship to each other), it is first necessary that we are united in the vertical (in our relationship with God).  I love this quote from A. W. Tozer: “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”

A. W. Tozer

The devil is ever working to divide and destroy marriages, families, churches, and communities.  But God has a better plan!  Jesus prayed that we might experience the perfect harmony that exists in the Triune God.  We are doing our part to the extent that we walk in close fellowship with Him!

REMINDER FOR OUR CHURCH (Ethel Gustafson’s letter)

Ethel Gustafson was a wonderful woman of God who dearly loved our church.  Though wheelchair-bound for years, she found lots of ways to serve Jesus.  Dismayed by in-fighting that had caused so much trouble in the previous decade, she wrote a letter that she shared with the congregation at my installation service in August 1990.  Her letter was later published as an article in the November/December issue of the VOICE Magazine.  Here’s what she wrote:

1. We have a challenge to overcome how we are regarded by those in the area:
   • Bad attitudes.
   • We’re a church that gobbles up pastors.
2. We can change if we:
   • Examine our own hearts.
   • Resolve differences as soon as possible.
   • Do not quibble over trivial matters.
   • Work together as a team with pastor, deacons, trustees, and others.
   • Remember our pastor is human (he’ll make mistakes, get tired, and be overworked).
   • Remember no good pastor is good at everything.
   • Remember he has physical needs, financial problems, family needs just like we do.
   • Remember he needs a living wage.
   • Remember he needs time to be left alone for devotions and Bible study and prayer.
   • Remember his children are no better or worse than ours.
   • Remember his wife has as many needs as any wife and can’t be expected to be at every meeting much less be in charge of all of them.
   • Remember he is a special target of Satan and needs our daily prayers.
   • Remember each of us needs to be available to do something and make it known we are.
3. Remember to get things into perspective and ask ourselves, “Why do we exist?”
   • To improve our own spiritual lives.
   • To worship together.
   • To be a corporate witness of Lewis and Clark Bible Church to the area (one bad apple will spoil the whole box).
   • We are a support group each for all and all for each.

“Believers are never told to become one; we already are one and are expected to act like it.” – Joni Eareckson Tada

OUR GOD HAS MADE US ONE
Our God has made us one
In Him our hearts unite
When we His children share His love
Our joy is His delight

Our God has made us one
His glory is displayed
For as we build each other up
Our love becomes His praise

Our God has made us one
In sorrow and in joy
We share the cross of Christ our Lord
In Him we now rejoice

Our God has made us one
One church to bear His name
One body and one Bride of Christ
And with Him we shall reign

April 25

Bible Reading: John 17:6-18

John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

I sometimes joke when I see how much a child has grown that all that is necessary for that to happen is to “just add food and water.” Things are not so simple with our spiritual growth.  But it matters immensely, even as Jesus prayed for the sanctification (spiritual growth) of those that belong to Him.  Elsewhere, Scripture reminds us that sanctification is, in fact, the will of God for the believer in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:3).  But what is the meaning of this term, sanctification?

The terms “saint” and “sanctification” are related.  If you are a believer, then you are a “saint!” This is how the Bible describes those who have trusted in Jesus (Ephesians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2).  What’s even more startling is that the term “saint” literally means “holy one.”  Vine’s Expository Dictionary explains the usage of the term: “a common NT designation for all believers is ‘saints,’ i.e. ‘sanctified’ or ‘holy ones.” Sainthood, or sanctification, is not something we attain by our own effort, but is the state into which God, by grace, calls sinful men, and in which they begin their course as Christians.   Though I’m not sure I’d recommend it, you’d be theologically correct if on your next visit to church you greeted a brother named John this way, “good morning saint John.”

The name and the position which underlies it have come through God’s gracious work through Jesus.  As Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Every believer has experienced this sin-cleansing work of Jesus at their new birth, and henceforth possesses it.  Sanctification (holiness) has to do with being set apart from the world and unto God.  In that respect, it represents a cleansing from sin, both positionally and practically.

Because God is holy, we are to be holy.  We are His children, and in His holiness, we inherit a beautiful attribute of our Father in which we are to grow.  In his book “the Knowledge of the Holy,” A. W. Tozer noted “we tend by a secret law of the soul to move towards our mental image of God.” That’s certainly true in this case!  As the Spirit of God works through the truth to unveil to us the holiness of God, we are drawn to the beauty of it and are called upon to pursue it.  Likewise, we are admonished in Hebrews 12:14 to “strive for…holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” 

Our very identity, as His “holy ones,” speaks to our destiny.  We are going to a beautiful place–a holy heaven where we will meet with a holy God and be joined to a holy company engaged in holy worship, in a place where sin will be no more.  The question is, if we had no appetite for holiness in the here and now, would we have any interest in such a place in eternity?  The chief tool the Spirit uses in the process of our sanctification is the truth of God’s Word.  You can only grow in Christ to the extent that you are being “washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:26).  Are you daily in the Word?  Jesus’ prayer was that you would be sanctified through it!

There can be no growth in holiness apart from a steady diet of the truth.

TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY
Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

April 24

Bible Reading: John 17:1-5

John 17:4-5, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”

Our passage describes the glorious work of Jesus, in which He left the glory of heaven, glorified the Father in His work on earth, and then, as a result, was glorified by and with the Father.

Jesus spoke of “the glory that (He) had with (the Father) before the world existed.”  His estate, from eternity, has been heaven’s glory.  He was the object of angelic worship (John 17:4).  As the self-existent creator of all things, He needed nothing and possessed everything.  Yet in love, He deliberately stepped down from heaven and exchanged His Kingly attire for that of a pauper (2 Corinthians 8:9).

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:11).  He made Himself poor.  There was no place for Him in the inn.  His crib was a feeding trough.  None of the religious elite or powerful came to acknowledge His birth.  His mother and father were but humble folks. His family was forced to flee to Egypt soon after His birth.  Jesus was poor in His life.  He associated with the lowly.  He had no earthly riches.  His disciples were ordinary men.  He once said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58).  “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him” (Isaiah 53:2).  He had no bank account.  No elaborate wardrobe.  He traveled by foot.  Though impoverished, He gave.  He taught.  He healed.  He raised people from the dead.  He fed the multitudes.  He, who says, “it is more blessed to give than to receive” was always giving.   Though a King, He lived the life of a servant (Mark 10:45; John 13:1-20). 

Jesus had enemies.  They conspired against Him, then had Him arrested and put Him on trial.  There was no one to defend Him.  He had friends, yet they deserted Him. So, He made His way to the cross alone.  They stripped him of His clothing and crucified Him on the cross.  The religious leaders incited the crowd against Him.  “Crucify Him, Crucify Him” they scornfully cry out.  The soldiers made fun of Him.  The people passing by insulted Him.  Crucified between two common thieves; they mocked Jesus too. 

Jesus “accomplished the work” that the Father gave Him to do, submitting Himself to the Father’s will perfectly (John 17:4).  He loved the Father, and the Father loved Him.  For all eternity, they’ve existed in perfect fellowship.  Yet as He is dying there on the cross, and the sins of the world are put upon Him, he cries out “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Naked, on that cross, soon to die for crimes not His own, He is totally abandoned and utterly alone.  He is bereft in every way, but especially in that which mattered most to Him—His relationship to the Father.  He is the antithesis of a rags to riches story.  He went from riches to rags.  He gave and gave and when He had given everything, but His life, He gave that too.  He did it on purpose.  It was no accident.  The Father gave the Son (John 3:16).  The Son gave Himself (Galatians 2:20). He did it all in perfect obedience to the Father, to save lost sinners like you and me!

See Him there hanging on the cross!  The Scriptures declare, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Galatians 3:14).  Our Lord is cursed, impoverished, naked, all alone, devoid of righteousness in bearing sins not His own (2 Corinthians 5:21).  It is as Martin Luther once says, “The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding.”  Indeed!

Jesus prayed, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence” (John 17:5).  And so it came to pass, that following the resurrection, Jesus was “exalted at the right hand of God” (Acts 2:33).  And there will come a day when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). 

As the hymn declares, “Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou My God shouldst die for me!”  That He would do what He did for you and me is a glorious thing, the most glorious work of all (Galatians 2:20)!  How we should then praise and thank Him for the gift He has given in rescuing us from our sins!

Jesus left the glory of heaven so that he might save us to the glory of heaven.

HE IS LORD
Emptied of His glory; God became a man,
To walk on earth in ridicule and shame.
A Ruler, yet a Servant; a Shepherd, Yet a Lamb;
A Man of Sorrows, agony and pain.

Humbled and rejected, beaten, and despised.
Upon the cross the Son of God was slain.
Just like a lamb to slaughter, a sinless sacrifice;
But, by His death His loss became our gain.

Chorus:
He is Lord, He is Lord!
He is risen from the dead and He is Lord!
Ev’ry knee shall bow, ev’ry tongue confess That
Jesus Christ is Lord

Satan’s forces crumbled like a mighty wall.
The stone that held Him in was rolled aside.
The Prince of Life in glory was lifted over all,
Now earth and heaven echoes with the cry. (Chorus)

WORDS: Linda Lee Johnson, Claire Cloninger and Tom Fettke
MUSIC: Tom Fettke
Copyright 1986 by Word Music

April 23

Bible Reading: John 17:1-5

John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Throughout history, many explorers and adventurers looked for an elusive Fountain of Youth which allegedly held the power to restore the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters.  In fact, there is a park in St. Augustine, Florida—the “Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park”—which serves as a tribute to the spot where Ponce de León was supposed to have landed in his search for the fountain.  But a visit to the park will yield no life-imparting miracle.  Jesus alone can provision eternal life, and it’s about far more than life extended.

The essence of eternal life is a personal, intimate relationship with God.  It is something that is received as a gift from God because of placing one’s trust in Jesus.  Eternal life is not something you wait to possess after you die, it is something you even now possess if you are a believer in Jesus.  It is as John 5:24 declares: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life (not ‘will have’ but ‘has’), and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”

Jesus came for this purpose, to reconcile lost sinners to God, even as 1 Peter 3:18 makes clear: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.”

I love this quote by A. W. Tozer: “Why did Christ come? Why was He conceived? Why was He born? Why was He crucified? Why did He rise again? Why is He now at the right hand of the Father? The answer to all these questions is, in order that He might make worshipers out of rebels; in order that He might restore us again to the place of worship we knew when we were first created.”  Eternal life is the fruit of that restoration.

A. W. Tozer

If you are a believer in Christ, you even now possess eternal life.  Its value lies not in added days, but in knowing the God of eternity, in a personal and intimate way, in your now and in your always!

If you are believing in Jesus, then you possess eternal life, even now!

NOW I BELONG TO JESUS
Jesus, my Lord will love me forever,
From Him no pow’r of evil can sever,
He gave His life to ransom my soul;
Now I belong to Him;

Chorus
Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.

Once I was lost in sin’s degradation,
Jesus came down to bring me salvation,
Lifted me up from sorrow and shame,
Now I belong to Him; (Chorus)

Joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me,
Freed me from sin that long had enslaved me
His precious blood, He came to redeem,
Now I belong to Him; (Chorus)