Healthy and Whole

When God revealed himself to human beings during Old Testament times God defined himself in terms of a “covenant name.” These names described God’s own identity in terms of his covenant relationship with his people. Each name began with the famous “I AM” (or I Will Be), followed by a name that really constituted a covenant promise. I would love to say more but I really want to focus on one of those names.

As God was leading the slave-people of Israel out of Egypt he revealed himself to them in very important ways in the process of establishing a covenant relationship with them. One of the names he used was given when the bitter, poison waters of Marah were healed. “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26). I AM the Lord Who Heals You. What a wonderful revelation of God and his covenant relationship with us!

My question is this: What exactly did God mean by “heal”? We’ve all seen enough promises of healing, whether natural or supernatural (if there is much of a difference between the two) to wonder about the nature of God as our Healer. The (Hebrew) word translated “heal” in Exodus 15:26 is rapha. It means “to sew together, to mend; to heal a wound; to heal a person or a land; to restore.” In general, this word means to restore something to its original condition so that it can fulfill its original purpose. So when God promised to be our healer, he was not just promising to fix what is broken; God was promising to restore us to full humanity, to make us whole.

As human persons we are born sick. The disease of sin has resulted in pain and brokenness in every part of our lives. Our minds, our emotions, our physical bodies, our relationships – everything has been twisted by the disease caused by our separation from God. And every part of our lives needs to be healed by God.

The word for “heal” is used at some very important points in the Old Testament. The psalmist gave witness concerning God, “He sent out his word and healed them” (Psalm 107:20). When rehearsing the benefits experienced in a covenant relationship with God David sang, “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:2-3). Through the prophet Isaiah God promised, “I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near, says the Lord. And I will heal them” (57:18-19). When speaking of the houses of Israel the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed, “I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security” (Jeremiah 33:6). The full range of healing was also indicated by Jeremiah: “I will cure you of backsliding” (Jeremiah 3:22; see also Hosea 14:4). Similarly, David declared, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

God’s people did not hesitate to pray for healing. David prayed, “Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony” (Psalm 6:2) and “Have mercy on me, Lord; heal me” (Psalm 41:4). He was then able to testify, “Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me” (Psalm 30:2). Jeremiah prayed, “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise” (Jeremiah 17:14).

When speaking of God’s Messiah Isaiah foresaw, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (53:5). Not only has God revealed himself to us as “the Lord who heals you,” God’s promised Anointed One, God’s Son, provided healing in the wounds he bore on his body. And that healing was sufficient to bring wholeness to every part of our lives – spirit, soul and body.

Remember the story in Exodus 15? After going without water for three days, the Israelites encountered a lake whose water was bitter, or literally poison. If they drank the water, it would not just taste bad – it would kill them. And how did they respond to this dilemma? “So the people grumbled against Moses” (15:24). The bitter water was really a metaphor for the fact that the people were bitter, and their bitterness was killing them. In response, God asked Moses to do something very strange: “The Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water and became fit to drink” (15:25). Somehow a simple piece of word thrown into the bitterness was sufficient to heal the water. In a similar way, the coming of Christ and his death on a piece of wood was sufficient to provide healing and wholeness to all humankind. It was really the hearts of the people, more than the water, that needed to be healed. That’s why God introduced his promise of healing with the words, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees” (15:26). The basis for their wholeness was a return to a right relationship with God. The promise was that the judgment that had fallen upon Egypt would not touch the Israelites. If they would return to God, listen to him and follow him, they would begin to experience healing in every part of our lives.

And the same is true for us! We believe in the healing found in Jesus, and we understand that healing will come from a life centered around a commitment to following Jesus with every part of our lives, bring wholeness to every part of our lives. 

Why Wait?!

“Wait” is one of my least favorite words. While I give every appearance of being patient and “laid back” on the outside, inside of my head the hard drive is spinning full speed all the time. (It doesn’t even slow down when I’m asleep.) It can be frustrating to encounter the common “hurry-up-and-wait” process and attitude in our culture.  I don’t like to wait (especially when it doesn’t seem to be necessary)!

At the same time, the word “wait” has a very important meaning in Scripture. In fact, the fine art of waiting can be a vital key to our spiritual growth and health. Let me give you some examples from the Old Testament:

·         When confronted with a question concerning the law, Moses responded, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you” (Numbers 9:8).

·         During his many trials Job confessed, “I will wait for my renewal to come” (Job 14:14).

·         Waiting was David’s daily discipline. “In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3).

·         David advises us, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14).

·         Then there are these words from David: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7).

·         Why? “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield” (Psalm 33:20).

·         Here are more confessions from the psalmist: “Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God” (Psalm 38:15), “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1), “I wait for your salvation, Lord, and I follow your commands” (Psalm 119:166), and “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope” (Psalm 130:5).

·         On the other hand, some grew impatient and did not wait for the Lord. “But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold” (Psalm 106:13).

·         “Wisdom” promises, “Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway” (Proverbs 8:34).

·         The prophet Isaiah had a special understanding of the need to wait: “I will wait for the Lord” (8:17), “Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you” (26:8), “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him” (30:18) and “No one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him” (64:4).

·         And then there’s my favorite from Isaiah: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (40:31 KJV).

When I compared the classic King James translation of Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the Lord,” with the NIV, “but those who hope in the Lord,” I looked up the word translated “wait,” and sure enough, it is also the word translated “hope.” You see waiting on the Lord is not just a passive, “I hope so” kind of waiting. It is a joyful, expectant waiting. Why? Because it is the Lord we are waiting for. And for the Lord, and all those who are waiting for him, the best is yet to come. We see the same language used by the prophet Jeremiah when he was mourning the destruction of the city of Jerusalem: “I say to myself, The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:24-26).

Those who are waiting for the Lord are not part of some desperate “white knuckle” club, but rather are those who have learned that true dependence on and intimacy with God always has a good result. It’s important to admit that difficulty waiting can just be a sinful need to be in control.

I’ve had a recent example of this “waiting” thing in my personal family. On March 27 my brother received a scary lab report. His dermatologist had removed a spot on his arm and gave a report of “melanoma.” Because it was a fairly deep spot they scheduled surgery for April 4 to remove a larger area of his arm and the closest lymph nodes. If the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes, then chemo, etc., etc. And then the wait…and the wait…and the wait. The lab report was to have come in on Monday, April 8. Nothing. Then on Tuesday. Nothing. And even as I was writing this article I received this text: “Just heard! All lymph nodes clean!! No cancer there. No cancer in the additional skin tissue! A true miracle! What an amazing God….” Waiting for the medical team can be frustrating. Waiting for the lab report can be filled with anxiety. But waiting for the Lord?! With God, truly the best is always yet to come!

Freedom to Believe

I’ve always identified with the disciple called Thomas. The church has traditionally referred to him as “Doubting Thomas,” and not as a complement. Doubting does not get a lot of good press in the Bible. When Peter was walking on the water and began to sink, Jesus questioned his doubt (Matthew 14:31). Later, Jesus taught that faith not mixed with doubt would have the ability to move mountains (Matthew 21:21). Even after witnessing the resurrected Christ, “they worshipped him; but some doubted” (Matthew 28:17; Luke 24:38). The apostle James stated that one who doubts “is like a wave of the sea” (James 1:6). On the other hand, Jude advised those he addressed to “be merciful to those who doubt” (Jude 1:22).

“Doubt” is an interesting word. In the New Testament it usually refers to someone differentiating or discriminating, to making a judgment. In that sense, “doubt” is not necessarily a bad thing. However, in some cases (when used in the middle voice) it refers to someone doubting themselves, and thus vacillating, wavering, being uncertain. “Doubt” as a need for further evidence is not necessarily a bad thing. “Doubt” as a complete lack of certainty can be paralyzing.

Thomas had a lot of questions about this so-called “resurrection.” After all, on that first Easter Sunday evening Jesus had already appeared to the other disciples. In that first meeting, “he showed them his hands and side” (John 20:20). At first the disciples refused to believe the evidence standing right in front of them. Jesus had to specifically instruct them, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). And if that wasn’t enough, Jesus asked for a piece of broiled fish (I guess it’s even unhealthy for resurrected folk to eat deep-fried fish): “They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence” (Luke 24:42-43). He wanted to demonstrate that he did not have some kind of totally new spiritual body; he could eat and digest food just like anyone else. Jesus had provided the other disciples with clear evidence of the reality of his physical resurrection. But Thomas was not present at that meeting. When the guys gave Thomas a report, he stated his personal need for evidence; he needed to have his own encounter with the risen Christ (John 20:24-25). Was that really so unreasonable?

As a young university student, I took the typical egghead position of a “soft-boiled agnostic,” i.e., I wanted to believe in God but didn’t think it would ever be possible to know for sure. Of course, my “knowing” had to be a “scientific,” evidentiary knowing. There was little room for faith, only for doubt. But because I wanted to believe in God, I began to search for evidence in good faith. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that if there is no God, if everything we are experiencing is the product of time plus chance plus nothing else, then there is no final meaning in life. There is no basis for truth or beauty or morality. Everything was purely arbitrary. Nothing made any sense. I was desperate to know. So one night I shut myself up in a little chapel in our dorm, wrapped myself in a blanket, and told the Lord that I would not leave that room until I knew for myself whether or not God existed and could be real in my life.

You might think that Jesus would have been upset with Thomas for asking for evidence of the resurrection. Instead, one week later Jesus reappeared to the disciples, and this time Thomas was with them (he had not abandoned them). Instead of rebuking him for his unbelief Jesus said, “Peace be with you! Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side” (John 20:26-27). Jesus offered Thomas the same evidence he had already given the other disciples. And Jesus, taking the time to show himself to Thomas in this way, liberated Thomas to believe. In fact, the response of Thomas is the most complete statement of faith and worship made by any of the disciples: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). The freedom to believe then released Thomas to be and do all Jesus purposed for him from that moment on.

I can’t fully describe what happened to me in that chapel so long ago; all I can say is that God visited me, that night and for many nights thereafter. I didn’t deserve it, but God empowered me to believe and gave me the freedom to go forward, not just by sight but more importantly, by faith. I still tend to question everything, but I am forever convinced that God is, and that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

After showing himself to Thomas and liberating Thomas to go forward by faith, Jesus made this important statement: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). While you and I have never touched or eaten with the risen Christ, he has revealed himself to us in many important ways, and he has pronounced a blessing on us, those who have not seen and yet have believed. Our lives do not have to be dominated by doubt; we have been set free to believe, making abundant life possible. “Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27). 

Crowds Can Be Fickle

Jesus was very popular in his day. Remember how his humble entrance into Jerusalem was met with an enthusiastic crowd? “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’” (Matthew 21:8-9). These folks were so enthusiastic they actually took their cloaks off and put them on the ground for Jesus to walk on. They even acknowledged Jesus as the one “who comes in the name of the Lord (verse 8), and “the prophet from Nazareth” (verse 11).

A “crowd” is simply “a large number of people gathered together, typically in a disorganized way.” It is “a throng pressed closely together, united by a common characteristic.” All that can be said for sure is that a crowd is a large gathering of people at one time and place. A crowd is not a community, but it is impressively large.

Because a crowd involved a large number of human beings, Jesus often took advantage of such a gathering to teach about God’s Kingdom. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Because the crowd had no clear sense of direction, because they only gathered as a result of having been scattered, Jesus had compassion for them. He realized their need for a true shepherd if they were to find their way. “A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill” (Matthew 12:15; see also 14:14). Jesus saw the fundamental dysfunction of the crowd and he reached out to heal them. “Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them” (Matthew 15:30; see also 19:2). Jesus saw the brokenness in the crowd and he took the time to touch their lives.

There were other times when Jesus purposely avoided the crowd. “When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake” (Matthew 8:18). That seems like an odd strategy. Why walk away from the crowd? There were times when Jesus insisted on ministering to someone in need “away from the crowd” (Mark 7:33). At other times Jesus seemed to be intentionally driving a crowd away (or at least greatly reducing its size) by giving a difficult if not offensive teaching (Mark 8:34-35; Luke 11:29; John 6:24, 66). At times Jesus simply instructed his disciples to “send the crowd away” (Luke 9:12).

We love the sight of a crowd. It gives us a feeling of success when we see a crowd responding to our call to gather. Even though Jesus spoke about him being with “two or three” who gathered in his name, we feel like a failure when it is only a small number gathering. But the fact is, there may be a fairly high level of covenant relationship in the smaller group. It takes no commitment at all to be a part of a crowd. Jesus refused to be impressed by the crowd or to entrust his mission to the crowd. Instead, Jesus focused his primary ministry and teaching on the twelve. Jesus seemed to be more impressed by the level of personal connection with key individuals than he was with his ability to attract a large number of people at a certain time and place.

A tragic part of the Easter story is the fact that the very crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was the same one calling for his crucifixion on Good Friday. “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed” (Matthew 27:20). I’m sure they had been expecting Jesus to continue his conquest of Jerusalem that began on Palm Sunday. After all, he had demonstrated his Messianic mission the next day by cleansing the temple, announcing a new administration in the temple and the city. So why had he allowed himself to be arrested by the temple police? Why was he now standing on trial before the Roman governor? So when Pilate asked the crowd what to do with Jesus, they responded, “Crucify him” (Matthew 27:22). When Pilate asked for their reasons, “they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’” (verse 23). After Pilate insisted on some form of justice, the crowd replied, “His blood is on us and on our children” (verse 25). Crowds can be fickle!

It’s not uncommon for crowds to gather on Easter Sunday morning. It seems like the proper religious thing to do. But only one thing matters; what is the actual state of your soul? To what extent are you really serious about following Jesus at every point in your life? How committed are you to the Lordship of Jesus? Beyond that, how committed are you to a specific family of brothers and sisters? Or do you find comfort and anonymity by hiding in the crowd? Our prayer for you on this great Easter morning is that you find a real, permanent place on God’s family. Jesus died for you! Jesus has risen from the dead! And Jesus is coming again!

Resurrection: Who Needs It?

There are some very important differences and distinctives to our Christian faith when compared to other faith traditions. Grace is certainly a key truth: to quote my friend Pastor Lamar, “God is not fair, but God is very good.” Ours is also the only faith that loves and serves a risen savior. Moses came down from the mountain with ten commandments written on stone, but Moses did not rise from the dead. Buddha defined a way of life for people in Asia, but Buddha did not rise from the dead. Mohammed called for religious unity among the Arabian tribes, but Mohammed did not rise from the dead. Our Easter claim goes beyond a commitment to the life and teachings of Jesus; it supersedes the importance of the death of Jesus on the cross.  We literally claim that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, rose from the dead on the third day; that he is alive today, seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, having all authority in heaven and on earth. We claim that Jesus is ruling today, and one day, at the end of the age, will return to set up his headquarters on planet earth.

But why do we believe these things to be true? What difference does it make, really? There are over 100 references to the resurrection in the New Testament. When the disciples decided to replace Judas as a member of their company, a key qualification was that he must be “a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:22). When Peter preached his first sermon on the Day of Pentecost the fact of the resurrection was a key theme. “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:23-24), and “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it” (Acts 2:32). When Paul began preaching the Gospel he followed the apostolic practice of clearly declaring the reality of the resurrection. “When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead.  God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay” (Acts 13:29-30, 34), and “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

It’s apparent that the Old Testament had already provided several interesting pictures of the resurrection of Jesus. The offering of Isaac by his father Abraham foreshadowed the death and resurrection of the Son (see Hebrews 11:17, 19). For Jesus, the three days Jonah spent in the big fish showed his experience of death and resurrection (see Matthew 12:40). In fact, there are several passages that seem to refer specifically to the resurrection of Jesus. “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay” (Psalm 16:9-10), and “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:10-11).

In fact, Jesus himself clearly prophesied his own resurrection. “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Matthew 16:21), and “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19; see also Matthew 16:21 &  27:63).

So why was the resurrection of Jesus necessary? What did it accomplish?

1.      It fulfilled God’s plan of redemption. The work of Christ in redeeming and restoring humanity to God’s original purpose would not have been possible without the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1, 4).

2.      The resurrection served as a sign and a seal on everything Jesus claimed to be and do. Without the resurrection, Jesus might have been viewed as a righteous martyr and good teacher, but not necessarily God’s Son (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17-22).

3.      The resurrection replaced death with a whole new quality of life; divine, abundant life, a life that is now available to all who have accepted Jesus and become a member of his family (John 11:25-26; Romans 8:11).

The beautiful thing is that the resurrection of Jesus is a verifiable historical fact. As Luke recorded, Jesus offered a large group of personal eyewitnesses “many infallible proofs” of his resurrection (Acts 1:3), a topic for another time. As followers of Jesus you and I can be absolutely certain of what we believe to be true; we can stake our lives on, as countless others have already done.

Most importantly, every human person has the opportunity to embrace the new life Jesus has provided for us. We are invited to accept and believe; we are offered abundant life – today! And for this we will be eternally grateful. 

A Public Spectacle

I sometimes wonder whether or not we fully understand and appreciate all Jesus has done for us. Even before the “only begotten God” was poured into humanity on that first Christmas morning, he had been actively involved in creation, in redemption, and in the calling out of a covenant community. But to reverse the curse, more was needed. And so Jesus came, “born of a woman, born under the law.” In his life and ministry Jesus announced the coming of the Kingdom and modeled a life lived in union with the Father. Some loved him and followed him; others hated him and plotted his demise.

Then came that week, those eight days we refer to as “Holy Week.” Every day was significant (more about this next week), but the culmination came on Friday. Do we really see all that Jesus accomplished during those Friday hours?

Theologians love to debate “theories of the atonement.” No matter what you favorite definition I think we can agree that Jesus accomplished a great work:

1.   Jesus died to paint a picture of the love of God. The extent to which God was willing to go to restore humanity to full fellowship was graphically shown on the cross.

2.   Jesus died to paint a picture of God’s hatred of sin. While God loves every human person with a perfect love, God hates sin with a perfect hatred. It is sin that is killing the human race; it is sin that has warped the very fiber of God’s good creation. Because God is holy, God can perfectly hate sin while perfectly loving sinners.

3.   Jesus died to deal a death blow to the kingdom of Satan. With the fall of the human race the authority of Adam and Eve was assumed by Satan; with the death of Jesus that authority was snatched away by Jesus, who even now rules as King of kings and Lord of lords.

4.   Jesus died to pay the price for the human rebellion against God, to provide enough grace to cancel out all human sin. Because Jesus was fully human and fully divine, his death was sufficient to take the place of every human being, to win salvation for everyone.

The apostle Paul put it so well: “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by  Christ,  having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:9-12). Jesus was not just a simple carpenter from Nazareth; the fullness of Deity existed in his physical body – a mystery. The fullness of humanity also existed in Christ, making it possible for fallen human beings to begin their journey back to completion. Jesus came as the King of God’s kingdom, having all the authority of heaven behind him. This is the Jesus we have identified ourselves with.

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14). Every human being is born separated from God; death is the only possible outcome for human existence apart from God. It was Jesus who took our death penalty on himself; it was Jesus who took all the evidence proving our guilt and nailed it to the cross. But more than that, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). Like a triumphant Roman general, Jesus won the decisive victory against all the powers of hell. Jesus stripped Satan and his army, taking away their authority, and led them naked through the streets for all to see. Some believers see Jesus accomplishing this grand victory at his second coming. Others see it happening on Easter Sunday morning. Paul declared that this public spectacle happened on the cross! When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he was referring to all the work of salvation and restoration, to the establishment of his authority, not only in heaven but now also on the earth.

When Jesus freely, willingly poured his life out to restore humanity, to restore creation, he was showing the world his love for the Father, his love for human persons, his commitment to defeat the enemy of sin, and his authority over Satan. Remember Job. Satan accused God of a failed attempt to create beings who would willingly love and serve God. Satan claimed that people serve God only when he blesses them; that if the blessings were taken away, they would not serve God. Satan claimed that human beings would never freely love God just because he was God. Job proved Satan wrong. Even more profoundly, Jesus proved Satan wrong on the cross. And now we have the opportunity to prove Satan wrong, by deciding to turn to God and receive the salvation Jesus accomplished for us. Now we can decide to love God – just because he is God. That is eternal life!

"Innocent!"

Imagine that you are being brought to trial for a crime you have committed. You’ve been able to get the best attorney in town to represent you. You have compiled as much evidence as possible, trying to prove your innocence, and if not prove your innocence, trying to reduce the consequences of your crime as much as possible. Unfortunately, the simple fact is this: You are guilty! And you are guilty of a crime that is so heinous you must pay for it with your life.

Now imagine that the person you have committed the crime against is the Creator and King of the universe. The Creator designed and made a race of creatures so unique and special, he determined to make them his personal friends and partners in creation. But instead they decided to declare their independence and go their own way. As a result, they brought evil and death into what had been a perfect creation. It is an infinite crime committed against an infinite God. The very nature of the crime has resulted in separation from God – death – and the ultimate penalty of the crime, eternal separation from God.

But that’s not the end of the story. You see, the King, who is also the Judge, has appointed his only-begotten Son to be the defense attorney. When the evidence proved to be overwhelming and the Judge was about to pronounce the verdict, the defense attorney came forward and offered to pay the penalty for the crime. Because the defense attorney is also God, his life has infinite value, and the giving of his life can therefore provide a sufficient penalty to cover the crimes of every human criminal. And when the Son gives his life the Judge pronounces the verdict – Innocent!

This is the miracle we are celebrating during the Easter season – the miracle of forgiveness. But forgiveness is also a scandal. Forgiveness is a breach of justice. When someone is proven to be guilty and justice calls for an appropriate penalty, forgiveness gives up the right to exact that penalty and lets the offender go free. Though guilty, we are forgiven and released from the penalty of our crimes.

In Christian theology we call this “justification.” When I taught a freshman level doctrine course in the past we described “justification” under four headings:

1. Justification is the removal of guilt. We are declared to be innocent even though we have been proven to be guilty.  We are no longer condemned but stand in right relationship with God.  Christ is our Advocate--He paid our penalty and gave us His righteousness.  As a result our guilt has been removed from us.  We are no longer sinners but saints (set apart ones). 

2.   Justification is the pardon of penalty. Through the cross our sin is paid for and a way is made for us to be reunited to God.  The penalty of death and all the consequences of sin are also removed.  In justification, sin on our account is put on Christ's account and the righteousness of God on Christ's account is transferred to our account.  To be righteous in the sight of God we must receive Christ's atonement.  Sin was removed from Christ's account at the point of His death on the cross.

3.   Justification is the imputation of righteousness. When Christ puts His righteousness on our account we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

4. Justification is a change of position. We now stand in right relationship with God. Justification frees us to grow in our personal relationship with God.

The scandal of forgiveness is a scandal of injustice. If someone is guilty, they must be punished. (“You do the crime, you do the time.”) As the Righteous Judge of the Universe God certainly has every right to exact judgment upon the human race. Instead, God found a way to erase the penalty and create the possibility of forgiveness – and that way is Jesus. The birth, life, ministry, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus paid the price. And now, we can be forgiven and set free.

However, God will not force forgiveness and freedom on us. We have to want it; we have to ask for it. And that begins by simply realizing our need for forgiveness. No amount of good works will be sufficient to pay the penalty for our crimes against God. Our only hope is to confess our sins and our need for forgiveness, to turn our hearts to God, to acknowledge that Jesus is the Savior and Lord, and to receive God’s grace and mercy. Then we are forgiven, we are free. It may be a scandal, but where would we be if God gave us what we deserved?

Forgiveness then becomes a lifestyle for the forgiven. You can’t live for very long without someone sinning against you, and justice calls for a penalty. But the infinitely forgiven followers of Jesus are in a position to pay it forward. It’s a miracle. And it’s a scandal. But it is a beautiful kind of scandal.