Have You Considered My Son Jesus?

 

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

 

                                    

"He has no stately form or majesty,  that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.  He was despised and forsaken of me.  A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face.  He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.  Surely our grief He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed." (Isaiah 53:2b-5).

Hey Gang:  As I prepared to write the morning messages on the Trial of Jesus, my sincere prayer was not that you gained a deeper understanding of the procedures of that day for handling capital offenses, nor to show the sadistic attitudes of the religious leaders but that you would get a firm grasp on the price that Jesus paid for our salvation.  Keep in mind, folks, He chose to submit to the cross.

John set the stage when he wrote, "Judas then, having received the Roman cohort (a Roman cohort consisted of 600 men) and officers from the chief priest and Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons" (John 18:3). 

Mathew made that very clear when He entered Jesus words, spoken at the time of His arrest and into the archives of time: "Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Matt. 26:54).  (A legion equaled 6,000 angels).  But notice Peter, the impetuous one, the one who vowed he would never leave or forsake Jesus, whipped out his sword and removed the ear from the head of Malchus, a slave. 

I wonder what those hardened Roman soldiers were thinking when Jesus calmly reached down and reattached Malchus’ ear? I certainly would have been awe struck!  How about you?  As I read this part of the account from John, I could almost hear Jesus saying, in a very loving and calm voice, "Peter,  put the  sword in to the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11).  The battle of the cross had already been fought and won when Jesus cried out,  "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will...If this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done." (Matt. 26:39/42).   

Soooo, my young friends, I have read and heard the Easter story many times, and in eighty years of life, I am sure I have heard more than eighty sermons on the cross.  But this has been a very special year for me, and I question why?  Perhaps it was because I took the time to do some serious digging until I have a better understanding of the price Jesus paid for me.  Perhaps it was because I believe we are standing on the very threshold of His return for His children and I expect very soon to be running and leaping and praising God in His presence and sitting at His Feet.  Gramps was welcomed Home May 16,2020.

Yes, I am deeper in my love and respect for God and His love for me- that He was willing to send His Son to live in human form and pay the price on the cross for me.  Look in the mirror this day and say quietly to Father God, thank You Lord for loving me.

I close with a words of one of those hardened Roman Soldiers, who may have driven the nails in Jesus’ hands,  "Truly, this was the Son of God!"   Is it not a privilege to be one of his children?

 

Blessings,  Gramps