Dr. Fr. Davis George
Alexander the Great once found his philosopher
friend Diogenes standing in a field, looking intently at a large pile of bones.
Asked what he was doing, the old man turned to Alexander and replied, "I
am searching for the bones of your father Philip, but I cannot seem to
distinguish them from the bones of the slaves." Alexander got the point:
everyone is equal in death. From the greatest to the least, from the most
beautiful to the most ordinary, death is the universal equalizer.
Most of us know the shock and grief that comes
with the death of a loved one or colleague: the sense of loss, perhaps numbness
or anger, perhaps the realization of our own mortality. Jesus - the King of the
Jews, the Messiah, the Son of God - shared the human experience of death. His
heart stopped beating, his lungs ceased their constant inhaling and exhaling,
and the electrical impulses within his brain slowed and subsided into
nothingness.
Each of the Gospel writers describes the event of
Jesus' death: "When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up
his spirit"; "With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last";
"When he had said this, he breathed his last"; "He bowed his
head and gave up his spirit" (Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46; John
19:30). But none of the Gospel writers focuses on the physical sufferings of
Jesus. Each tells part of the whole horrific story, with his own emphasis and
understanding of its significance. The death of Jesus was not only unusual - it
was unique.
Jesus shared the common experience of death that
we all must encounter. Some die accidentally, others by their own hand; some
die deserving death; others unjustly or prematurely - but all die. Yet Jesus'
death was unique because it was perfectly timed.
People die in different ways. Sometimes the
spirit leaves peacefully while the person is asleep. Sometimes it is violently
removed, and there's an agonizing battle as the sufferer struggles frantically
to hold onto life. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin died in 1953, and his daughter
Svetlana penned this graphic description of his last moments:
"The death agony was horrible . . . At what
seemed like the very last moment he suddenly opened his eyes and cast a glance
over everyone in the room . . . He suddenly lifted his left hand as though
bringing down a curse on us all. The gesture was incomprehensible and full of
menace . . . The next moment, after a final effort, the spirit wrenched itself
free of the flesh" (Svetlana Alliluyeva, Twenty Letters to a Friend).
Not so with Jesus: "After he took the wine,
Jesus said, 'It's done . . . complete.' Bowing his head, he offered up his
spirit" (John 19:30 ,
The Message). Even as he hung suspended by Roman nails between earth and heaven,
he was in control, bringing his life mission to its ultimate climax. Augustine
reminds us that "Jesus gave up his life because he willed it, when he
willed it, and as he willed it."
His death was also an act of worship. Throughout
his life Jesus pleased his Father. At his baptism heaven opened and God
declared, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased"
(Matthew 3:17 ). To the
Jews who persecuted him Jesus said, "I seek not to please myself but him
who sent me" (John 5:30 ).
And Hebrews 9:14 reveals
that on the cross Jesus "offered himself unblemished to God."
Unlike the temple priests who first sacrificed an
animal to remove their own sins before sacrificing on behalf of the people,
Jesus offered to God his own body - his own life - for our sins. In doing so,
he demonstrated his complete obedience to God as his holy Father, and the
complete worthiness of God as the object of his worship. In this respect also
his death was unique.
When Jesus dismissed his spirit and died, the
soldiers stationed nearby were surprised he had died so quickly; some victims
remained alive for up to two days before dying. But they were not the only ones
surprised. Across the valley, in the city centre, at the precise moment of
Jesus' death, Matthew records that "the curtain of the temple was torn in
two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke
open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life"
(Matthew 27:51-52). The death of Jesus had supernatural consequences.
The enormous, thickly lined curtain separating
the holy of holies from the holy place was torn in two, symbolising that
through the death of Jesus the way into God's immediate presence was open to
all, regardless of the distinctions often made between clergy and laity, Jew
and Gentile, master and servant, man and woman. All people now had equal access
to God and to his salvation, and equal opportunity for worship and service.
And then the earth shook and rocks were split in
pieces! The event was, quite literally, earth-shaking, as the natural
environment responded to the death of its creator. Burial chambers broke open,
probably through the force of the earthquake. Then something occurred that no
earthquake could achieve: the bodies of many dead people returned to life
(verse 52)! The death of Jesus Christ triggered the resurrection of God's
people, and his resurrection guarantees our future resurrection when he returns
to earth. There was no other death like it, before or since; in this regard
also the death of Jesus was unique.
But his death also had eternal consequences.
Immediately before he died, Jesus said, "It is finished" (John 19:30 ). What was finished? The work
he came to earth to accomplish. Michelangelo, the Renaissance artist of Sistine
Chapel fame, was a genius. He excelled as a sculptor, designer, painter and
architect. His statues of Moses and David are widely recognized and
appreciated. What many people don't know is that in Florence , there's an entire hall filled with
his 'unfinished' sculptural works. As great an artist as he was, he left much
unfinished.
Jesus left no unfinished work - he accomplished
everything he came to do. He completed his monumental mission. Hebrews 2:9 says
with majestic simplicity, "In that death, by God's grace, he fully
experienced death in every person's place" (The Message). Jesus not only
died - he died in your place. He died so you could have life. He suffered so
you could find peace. He endured the darkness of Calvary
so you could experience the light of the Good News. He endured the curse so you
could enjoy the blessing. He was alienated from God so you could be reconciled
to God.
He who never did wrong suffered under the agonizing
weight of your wrongs, so you could be put right with God. "He personally
carried the load of our sins in his own body when he died on the cross, so that
we can be finished with sin and live a good life from now on" (1 Peter
2:24, LB).In his death Jesus demonstrated God's love for us in the fullest
possible way, achieved total victory over evil, and made our salvation
possible. He was not merely a good man who died as an example of virtue or
meekness; he was the perfect God who took our burdens of sin and guilt and made
them his burden. His death was not an example to inspire us but a sacrifice to
save us!
As John Stott says, "A pattern cannot secure
our pardon . . . an example can stir our imagination, kindle our idealism and
strengthen our resolve, but it cannot cleanse the defilement of our past sins,
bring peace to our troubled conscience or reconcile us to God" (Basic
Christianity 1971:89). Only the death of the holy Son of God could achieve
those purposes. His death was an example, but it was much more than that. It
was the only way God could bring you into relationship with himself, into his
glorious kingdom, his new community. Jesus' death was unique because it was
perfectly timed, it was a priceless act of worship, and it had supernatural
consequences; but above all his death had eternal consequences, our salvation.
0 comments:
Post a Comment