God IS More!

Have you ever been in a situation where things were not what they seemed? Maybe you were falsely accused. Perhaps assumptions were made about your actions or your character that weren’t accurate. It’s interesting how, to varying degrees, we all write stories in our own minds about the people around us. What they’re doing, thinking or how they should behave according to us. 

Consider Jesus. The disciples, realizing their long-awaited Messiah had come, had their own idea of what His rule as king should look like. Under the heavy oppression of Rome, they had surely dreamed since childhood of their Savior and how their deliverance would play out. Lots of whooping on, righting wrongs, vengeance and Old Testament style bar-be-ques must’ve been at the forefront of their minds, and hey, who could blame them? We all like to see the oppressed set free from their abusers and for justice to be served, right?

But God. 

God had a different plan entirely. Instead of a scorched-earth warrior,*He sent a humble servant. A lamb. A perfect and sinless One who challenged the status quo and told His disciples to love their enemies. To pray for those who persecute and mistreat them. He was there, not to conquer Rome (think bigger) but to conquer sin and death! The same God who had delivered their forefathers from captivity in Egypt was about to make a once-for-all sacrifice, His son, to pay for the sins, not only for the Jews, but for each and every person of every nationality and ethnicity! And not only for the current period of time, but for all generations to come (including ours)!

So Jesus, after being accused for claiming to be God (spoiler alert- He was and still is), stood before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. Pilate wanted no part in the decision of what to do with Jesus so he attempted to transfer his authority to the angry mob of Jews by giving them a choice: release Barabbas, an imprisoned murderer, or release Jesus. 

“ What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. 

They all answered, “Crucify him!” 

“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

 But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” (Matthew 27:22-23)

Jesus stood before the crowd, bloody, battered and bruised, having been beaten, whipped and tortured gleefully by the relentless Roman soldiers. Pilate literally washed his hands of the crucifixion of Jesus that would soon take place.  

There stood Jesus, not defending Himself, not fighting his oppressors, just standing there. No righting of wrongs, no calling fire down from heaven, just standing there. Surrendered to His Father’s will. This is surely what Jesus meant when He prayed, face to the ground  just a short time earlier in the place called Gethsemane, ““My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Jesus knew what was coming. Abandoned by His disciples and friends as he prayed (they were sleeping), beaten to the point of not being recognizable as a human being and then sent away to be crucified by the governor of Rome? Hated by the same people that hailed Him as their Messiah just a few days earlier? How could this be? 

 Things were not as they appeared. What looked like a death sentence was in fact a death blow to sin and the grave. What appeared as a pathetic, weak and broken man was just a prelude to a strong and mighty King, who will one day return (and this time he’s bringing the heat)! 

See, Jesus surrendered to His Father in heaven for you and for me. He went to the cross, being mocked and whipped all the way because He loved you that much. Jesus had eternal perspective, yet in His humanity, He was terrified of the torture and pain that he would be subjected to. Still, He did it anyway. He made the ultimate sacrifice. The spotless lamb shed His blood for you and for me to pay for our sins: past, present and future. 

Think you aren’t worthy of His sacrifice? Think again. He died for you. That’s right; you. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, His blood covered it all. 

For those of us who follow Jesus, let’s take a moment to reflect on His perfect love and sacrifice, thanking Him for the cross. 

For those who are reading who don’t know Jesus as Savior and Lord, pray this in your heart: 

Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. You were and are perfect, without sin, yet you paid for mine. My sins are many. I need You. I receive the gift of salvation, your blood, poured out for me. Thank you for dying in my place to pay a debt that you didn’t owe and that I could never pay. I need you, Jesus. Please come and be my Lord and Savior. I surrender my life to you, just like you surrendered your life to God for me. 

Amen