Church was SO good yesterday. Without a dobut I am under some of the best biblical teaching in the world. I recognize it and try not to take it for granted. Yesterday J Mac was teaching from Luke 23. He's been doing a sereis on the crucifixtion of Christ.
When we think of the Cross of Christ we usually think of the physical suffering or the way he took on our sin. I've never really thought about the element of the precense of God at Calvary. J Mac stated that Calvary is more about the wrath of God than anything else.
Luke 23:44-46 "It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last."
This passage has impacted me a lot over the last 24 hours. The sixth hour back in that empire was noon time. So at noon God covered the earth in complete darkness for three hours. This would have been a supernatural event. (I can't imagine the world going pitch black in the middle of the day!)In Matthew, Jesus called complete darkness hell. Divine wrath was poured out. In those moments Jesus wanted to be comforted. He was man yet sinless, taking on the sin of the World, feeling the wrath of God and he had no one to comfort him or help him. THIS is the final suffereing of hell...NO COMFORT. In hell God will not be there to show sympathy, comfort or relief. Jesus died and paid the penalty for our sin so we wouldn't have to suffer like that. Jesus did all of this for ME and You.
This past year has had it's ups and downs for me. During these moments I have clung to the Lord and his Word for comfort and encouragement. That is what has sustained me. I can't imagine what it would have been like to experience what Jesus experienced with no comfort from God the Father. This message really made me look at Calvary differently and I'm so thankful for that. Thank you Jesus for taking that on for me!!
*Today I am thankful for the Cross of Christ.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing, Hollie, this is SOOO encouraging and really cool.
That part really hit me too. I love that John has a way of explaining a familiar story and bringing things out of it that I have never considered before. Thanks for sharing!
Post a Comment