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LESSONS FROM
LAMENTATIONS
(Part 5)
CHRIST AND THE CROSS
It is Good Friday.
Today is Jesus’ crucifixion and death.
Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Could our salvation and
reconciliation with God not be secured by some other way? The answer
is no.
“According to the law almost everything is purified by blood, and
without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Heb 9:22).
“Since the life of a living body is in its blood, I have made you
put it on the altar, so that atonement may thereby be made for your
own lives, because it is the blood, as the seat of life, that makes
atonement.” (Lv 17:11). Thus, in accordance with the Old Covenant,
an animal was sacrificed to atone for the sins of the offeror. Blood
had to be shed.
Since our sins are against God Himself, what had to be sacrificed was
a lamb without blemish. But only God Himself is perfectly pure. So His
very own Son became the sacrificial lamb. Jesus is the Lamb who takes
away the sins of the world.
There is another reason why Jesus went to the cross. This one is less
theological but more practical. Jesus showed the way to enduring
suffering and affliction, which all of us can expect to experience in
the world. There is a very important aspect to suffering that has to
do with the very salvation of the world. God wanted to teach us
something.
How was it with Jesus himself? “Son though he was, he learned
obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he
became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb
8-9).
Here we see an important progression:
Suffering >> obedience >> perfection >> salvation
We are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We are children of
God, as Jesus was His Son. We are to be used as His instruments of
salvation, as Jesus was the very Savior. We are to carry our crosses,
as Jesus did. We are to die to self, as Jesus died for us.
God offered His own Son on the cross. Since we are His children whom
He loves, God allows affliction, “for whom the Lord loves, he
disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.” (Heb 12:6). If
not, then we are not sons but bastards (Heb 12:7-8). God offered Jesus
for our benefit. God disciplines us also for our benefit, “in order
that we may share his holiness” (Heb 12:10b). For what purpose? For
us to receive “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb 12:11).
So there will be suffering in life. Affliction and crosses purify us.
They make us cling to God more. We learn obedience to His divine will.
When we obey and walk in His ways, we will grow in holiness. We move
to become perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5:48). As we
grow in holiness, as we become more like Jesus, we strengthen our
witness and we receive greater anointing by the Spirit. We become
God’s instruments to evangelize, to proclaim the good news of
salvation in Jesus to all.
This is the process by which Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross will
bring salvation to the world.
Today’s readings have much to teach us. We turn now to the lessons
God gave us two years ago. Here again is the reflection offered in
2007 (From the book “Forty Days of Lamentations”).
Day 39
Good Friday
Jesus as the Model for our Lamentations
“You are my rock and my fortress”
(Psalm 31:4a)
April 6
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm 31:2-25
Hebrews 4:14-5:9
John 18:1-19:42
It is Good Friday.
Today we celebrate the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn
18:1-19:42). Jesus’ death and resurrection are what have won for us
our salvation. They are at the very core of our covenant with God as
Christians. They also point us to the spirituality we live and the
gospel we proclaim. It is the spirituality and gospel of the cross. It
is the spirituality of Lamentations, where in our sorrow is already
the seed of hope and joy.
A spirituality of the cross is not easy. In fact, it is very difficult
to live. This is one reason why we need to be always focused on Jesus.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with
our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.” (Hb 4:15). Jesus has gone through it all. He has
suffered terribly. In the light of his passion and death, our own
sufferings are very small. In addition, Jesus understands our
lamentations. He sympathizes with our weaknesses and failures. “So
let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and
to find grace for timely help.” (Hb 4:16). God’s grace is
abundant. His mercies are not exhausted. His help is always available.
Jesus is our model in relating to the Father in our lamentations.
“In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and
supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to
save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” (Hb
5:7). Jesus as fully human agonized during his passion, and looked to
God for help and deliverance. And he was heard. And he learned the
lessons of Lamentations. “Son though he was, he learned obedience
from what he suffered” (Hb 5:8). Our deliverance and restoration lie
in our obedience to God. And because of Jesus’ reverence and
obedience, “when he was made perfect, he became the source of
eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hb 5:9). When we in turn
obey Jesus, then we will experience restoration and enjoy eternal
salvation.
What suffering did Jesus have to endure? Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is the
fourth and last of the “Servant of the Lord” oracles. It is
prophecy perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It is an extraordinary
description of the suffering Servant who atones for the collective
guilt of his people and saves them from the just punishment of God.
Over and over, Isaiah speaks about how Jesus suffered for our sins.
-
“Yet it was our
infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured” (Is
53:4a).
-
“But he was
pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins” (Is 53:5a).
-
“Upon him was the
chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were
healed.” (Is 53:5b)
-
“But the Lord
laid upon him the guilt of us all.” (Is 53:6b)
-
“Oppressed and
condemned, he was taken away, ….. he was cut off from the land
of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people” (Is 53:8).
-
“But the Lord was
pleased to crush him in infirmity. ….. he gives his life as an
offering for sin” (Is 53:10).
-
“Through his
suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall
bear.” (Is 53:11b)
-
“And he shall
take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.”
(Is 53:12c)
Extraordinary!
Inscrutable! God Himself has suffered and died for my sins! How can I
not offer Him my life in return? How can I hold anything back from
Him? My only vocation in life should be to ensure that God’s
“servant shall prosper, (that) he shall be raised high and greatly
exalted.” (Is 52:13). Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of
lords. “So shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall
stand speechless” (Is 52:15a). I can only commit my whole life to
proclaiming His glory among the nations, so that “those who have not
been told shall see, those who have not heard shall ponder it” (Is
52:15b).
Jesus himself was in lamentations, but this gave us hope and joy.
Because of what Jesus has done for us, and what he continues to want
to do for us, what now is he to us? Who is he? Jesus is:
-
Our refuge, in whom
we can never be put to shame (Ps 31:2).
-
Our rock of refuge
and our stronghold, through whom we are saved (Ps 31:3).
-
Our rock and our
fortress, who leads and guides us (Ps 31:4).
-
Our refuge, who
frees us from the snare (Ps 31:5).
-
Our faithful God,
who redeems us (Ps 31:6b).
As Jesus is all that,
the only reasonable response we can have to him is:
-
To place the
totality of our being, our very well-being, into his hands (Ps
31:6a).
-
To trust in him (Ps
31:7b,15).
-
To rejoice and be
glad in his love (Ps 31:8a).
Finally, it is
appropriate to acknowledge who Jesus is and what he does for us. Let
us praise him and proclaim him to the whole world.
-
“You are my rock
and my fortress” (Ps 31:4a).
-
“You are my
refuge” (Ps 31:5b).
-
You are “Lord,
faithful God” (Ps 31:6b).
-
“You are my
God.” (Ps 31:15)
-
“How great is
your goodness, Lord” (Ps 31:20).
-
“Blessed be the
Lord, who has shown me wondrous love” (Ps 31:22).
Jesus suffered
and went to the cross. We are to follow in his steps. We too are to
take up our cross. But even as our crosses in life bring us to
lamentations, we know where we truly are going. Jesus has gone before
us. Jesus has shown us the way. Jesus knows what our pains, fears and
tears are all about.
We know the extent of God’s love for us. The Father’s love took
human form in Jesus. And Jesus shed his precious blood to seal our
covenant. And even now, Jesus walks with us, and bears our yoke with
us. We therefore can face lifewith all its ups and downs, with all
its pains and joyswith confidence. In God we trust. Jesus brings us
victory, hope and joy.
The kind of God we
have: The God who died for us.
Covenant response: Embrace the cross.
So our appropriate
covenant response is to embrace the cross of Christ.
Why? It is God’s will. Through Jesus’ crucifixion, “the will of
the Lord shall be accomplished through him” (Is 53:10c). It is
God’s way to bring forgiveness for our sins and our justification.
“Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their
guilt he shall bear.” (Is 53:11b). It is God’s way to bring
salvation and life to the world. “If he gives his life as an
offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life” (Is
53:10b).
Thus, “the Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity.” (Is
53:10a).
It is simply God’s way. In His love for us, God treats us the same
way.
So we embrace the cross, just as Jesus did. And our continuing
work is to proclaim the cross of Christ, so that many others will
benefit from Jesus’ salvific sacrifice.
Following is one of the many lessons of Lamentations that we need to
learn, from the book “Forty Days of Lamentations.”
Lamentations 111
– We proclaim a gospel of the cross.
“we proclaim Christ crucified” (1 Cor 1:23a)
The gospel of prosperity is popular and attracts many because it
caters to what people wantmoney, success, healing, romance, and so
on. But while God certainly wants to bless His people and give them
good things, this is not the true gospel. The authentic gospel is a
gospel of the cross, and so “we proclaim Christ crucified, a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” (1 Cor 1:23).
The gospel of the cross is the way to true discipleship. Jesus says,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up
his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk 9:23). Jesus goes further:
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my
disciple.” (Lk 14:27). We do know that if we follow Jesus, then that
path leads all the way to the cross.
But the cross of Christ is what brings salvation. “The message of
the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are
being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1:18). The cross of
Christ is what brings joy and glory. “For the sake of the joy that
lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has
taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2b).
Let us then proclaim, “But may I never boast except in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to
me, and I to the world.” (Gal 6:14).
Our lesson: proclaim the gospel of the cross.
The cross of Christ is
the very instrument of our salvation. This is a great mystery.
Jesus has already shown us the way. Let us acknowledge Jesus as our
Savior and Lord, and always put our hope and trust in him.
“But I trust in
you, Lord;
I say, ‘You are my God.’”
(Psalm 31:15)
Good Friday
April 10, 2009
