Tag Archives: jesus death

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — God So Loved . . .

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Read: John 3:13-19

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 16-18; 2 Corinthians 6

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” —Luke 23:34

July 28, 2014, marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. In the British media many discussions and documentaries recalled the start of that 4-year conflict. Even the TV program Mr. Selfridge, which is based on an actual department store in London, included an episode set in 1914 that showed young male employees lining up to volunteer for the army. As I observed these portrayals of self-sacrifice, I felt a lump in my throat. The soldiers they depicted had been so young, so eager, and so unlikely to return from the horror of the trenches.

Although Jesus didn’t go off to war to defeat an earthly foe, He did go to the cross to defeat the ultimate enemy—sin and death. Jesus came to earth to demonstrate God’s love in action and to die a horrendous death so that we could be forgiven of our sins. And He was even prepared to forgive the men who flogged and crucified Him (Luke 23:34). He conquered death by His resurrection and now we can become part of God’s forever family (John 3:13-16).

Anniversaries and memorials remind us of important historical events and heroic deeds. The cross reminds us of the pain of Jesus’ death and the beauty of His sacrifice for our salvation. —Marion Stroud

Dear Lord, thank You for loving me so much that You left Your home in heaven, came to earth, and willingly went to the cross for me. Thank You for paying the penalty for my sins and forgiving me.

The cross of Jesus is the supreme evidence of the love of God. Oswald Chambers

INSIGHT: Jesus spoke of Himself as “the Son of Man” (John 3:13), a title used exclusively to refer to Himself in the Gospels. In today’s passage, Jesus used it synonymously with “God’s one and only Son” (v. 18; see Matt. 26:63-64). Jews who were familiar with the book of Daniel would have recognized Jesus as the Messiah (see Dan. 7:13-14). Although “Son of Man” is a Messianic title, Jesus often used it in connection with His humiliation and suffering and His dying on the cross (Matt. 12:40; 17:9,12,22; Luke 9:22,44; 18:31-33; John 3:14-16). Making a typological reference to the bronze snake in Number 21:4-9, Jesus said that He too would be lifted up and anyone who looks to Him will not die but have eternal life (John 3:14-15). Sim Kay Tee

Greg Laurie

Max Lucado – Jesus–Born Crucified

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Max Lucado

Jesus’ death was not the result of a panicking, cosmological engineer. The cross wasn’t a tragic surprise. The death of the Son of God was anything but an unexpected peril!

Jesus’ death was part of a plan.  A calculated choice.The cross was written into the script. It was no accident. Jesus was born crucified. Whenever he became conscious of who he was, he also became conscious of what he had to do. It explains the resoluteness in his words:  “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life, only to take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:18).

So call it what you wish.  An act of grace. A plan of redemption.  A martyr’s sacrifice. But whatever you call it, don’t call it an accident. It was anything but that!

From God Came Near

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A God of Grace

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Charles Stanley

John 1:14-18

Imagine receiving a big beautifully wrapped gift when there’s no particular occasion—the sender simply chose to do this for you. Inside the package is something very special. Eagerly, you read the card to discover who could have been so generous. To your amazement, you learn that the giver is someone you have been avoiding—and to whom you have been unkind! What do you do?

This scenario is a picture of the Father’s grace in sending His Son Jesus to earth for us. There was no special occasion; God simply had the desire to do it. The present arrived, despite the fact that we were either passively ignoring the Lord or actively rebelling against Him. This is grace—God’s goodness and kindness extended to those who do not deserve it and have no possible way to earn it.

In the Son, we see the fullness of God’s kindness revealed. Jesus fully met all the requirements of divine law by living a perfect life on earth; because of His sinless life as a man, He was qualified to pay the price for our rebellious ways. He did this by sacrificing His life on the cross to pay for all our sins—past, present, and future. So, when we receive Him as our Savior, God counts Jesus’ death as payment for all we have done wrong. What’s more, upon our salvation, Christ’s perfect life is counted as our own; His righteousness becomes ours through faith (Rom. 4:5).

What will you do with God’s gift of grace—refuse it, or say “thank You” and make an effort to get to know Him? And if you already do know Christ, have you been taking Him for granted?

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Intimidated or Assured

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Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen, now serves an eight-year, veritable death sentence in Tehran’s brutal Evin prison because of his faith; he turned from Islam to Christianity. He visited family in Iran numerous times, but his witness finally caused the government to imprison him. Appeals for his release have gone unanswered.

But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. II Thessalonians 3:3

Pastor Saeed testified of his faith…a testimony based on actual, historical events concerning Jesus’ death and resurrection. After Christ’s ascension into heaven, His disciples met to choose a replacement for Judas; they wanted someone who had been with them the whole time that Jesus was among them so his testimony would be true. Each disciple endured torture and each – except John – met death because of his witness for Christ. In his later years, John was punished with exile to the island of Patmos.

The scene may change, but the attitudes and actions of those who do not believe, leaders and citizens alike, do not. What is your testimony to them? Do not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Do not be intimidated. Be assured. God will carry you through every situation. Pray for His leading.

Recommended Reading: 1 Peter 4:7-19

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Our Daily Bread – “And It Was Night”

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John 13:21-30

Having received the piece of bread, [Judas] then went out immediately. And it was night. —John 13:30

During a business trip to Philadelphia, I attended an evening service on the Thursday before Easter—a service of Communion and Tenebrae (darkness) held in a small chapel lit by candles. Following the bread and the cup, a passage was read aloud from the gospel of John, one candle was extinguished, and we sang a verse from a hymn about Jesus’ journey to the cross. This was repeated 14 times until the chapel was completely dark. In silence we knelt in prayer and then left one by one without speaking.

The darkness of this type of service can remind us of the dark elements surrounding Jesus’ death. Think of His last meal with the disciples (John 13:21-30) as He explained that one of them would betray Him. Only Jesus knew it was Judas. “Having received the piece of bread, [Judas] then went out immediately. And it was night” (v.30).

On the darkest evening of Jesus’ life, He agonized in prayer in the Garden, faced a wrongful arrest, endured humiliation at the hands of religious leaders, and winced at Peter’s denials. Yet He moved faithfully toward the cross where He would die for our sins.

Jesus endured darkness and death to give us light and life. Praise Him for what He went through for us!

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down;

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown? —Watts

Calvary reveals the vileness of our sin and the vastness of God’s love.

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Charles Stanley – How We Don’t Get to Heaven

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John 3:1-17

If asked, “Why should you go to heaven?” most people will answer very sincerely that the basis of their acceptance by God is the fact that a) they are pretty good or b) they aren’t sinful and therefore don’t deserve to be condemned. This is a prevalent theological fallacy in our world today. As a young man, I attended three different churches before somebody told me the truth about salvation.

In reality, it doesn’t matter what kind of a person you are—the issue is the simple truth of God’s Word. The misguided idea that we can earn salvation has devastating implications. For one thing, if you could enter heaven based on your earthly merits, Jesus’ death at Calvary would have been totally unnecessary. And if that were the case, it would follow that God the Father made a terrible mistake in sending His Son to a cruel death. What’s more, if salvation were possible apart from Jesus Christ, then you’d be able to have a personal relationship with God apart from Jesus Christ as well.

We must not distort God’s great love for us by using faulty theology. We are forgiven solely on the basis of Jesus Christ’s incredible sacrifice—which comes from a place of unconditional love. If we base our salvation on anything else, we destroy the cornerstone of Christianity.

It’s important to learn Scripture well enough to discern truth from false teaching. Many people go to churches that claim, “God loves everyone, so you’ll be okay if you just do your best.” If that were the case, Christianity wouldn’t be symbolized by a cross, because Calvary would have been a mistake.

 

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Praying in Jesus’ Name – Charles Stanley

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John 16:19-33

Shortly before the crucifixion, Jesus told His followers to pray in His name—in other words, to make requests according to His will. He pointed out that power is attached to prayer offered this way: “The Father will give you whatever you ask in My name” (John 15:16 niv). Supplication in Christ’s name means we’re declaring our . . .

• Association with the Savior. What makes it possible for us to approach God through prayer is our relationship with Jesus. At salvation, we went from being foreigners and aliens to being children of God. (Eph. 2:19) Our Creator has become our heavenly Father. He hears our requests because we have been made family through the redemptive work of His Son. The presence of Christ’s Spirit within us proves we are one of His own.

• Access to the Father. Jesus’ death opened the way for us to have immediate, unhindered admittance to the Father’s presence. When Jesus finished His work in making the final priestly sacrifice (Heb. 7:28), the veil in the temple, which closed off the Holy of Holies from man, was torn in two. (Mark 15:38) This symbolized the spiritual truth that access to God was now open to all who believe. Through the Holy Spirit, we have the right to talk to God directly without a human intermediary (Eph. 2:18).

Jesus Christ fully paid the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross. Accepting His atoning death on our behalf means we are in a new family relationship and we have unhindered access to the Father. Let’s stop right now and give thanks to God for the incredible privilege of prayer!

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The Humiliation of Christ – John MacArthur

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“We . . . see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9).

Jesus’ death on the cross was not easy or costless–it was a horrific death. It was not calm and peaceful; it was accompanied by outward torture and inward agony. The death He tasted was the curse of sin. In a few hours on that cross, He suffered the total agony of every soul for all eternity. He was guilty of no sin, yet He chose to suffer the weight of all sins committed for all time.

God sent His Son, and His Son willingly came to die to redeem mankind. Paul writes, “When the fulness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law” (Gal. 4:4-5).

Only by tasting death as a man could He free mankind from death. Historically, kings have had someone taste their food and drink before they consumed it. Christ drained to the dregs the cup of poison rightfully meant for us before it could ever touch our lips. He substituted His death for ours, releasing us from the deadness of sin to life with God.

What moved Jesus to suffer for us? Grace. What we did not deserve (salvation) we received, and what we did deserve (death) we did not receive. Unbounded love prompted Christ’s gracious work on our behalf: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

After He accomplished the work of His substitutionary death, He was “crowned with glory and honor” and exalted to the right hand of the Father, where He will reign forever and ever. He is our great Substitute, whom we can thank and praise throughout all eternity.

Suggestion for Prayer:  Ask God to give you opportunities to communicate the gospel to new people, even if you might suffer in the process.

For Further Study:  Read Isaiah 52:13–53:12 to understand what the God of the universe had to endure at the hands of men.

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The Virgin Birth—Does It Matter? – Charles Stanley

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Luke 1:26-37

I find it interesting that people choose parts of the Bible to accept as true. The virgin birth is often a rejected miracle—the argument I hear is, “As long as I believe in Jesus, the rest doesn’t matter.” But that rationale isn’t logical. Apart from the virgin birth, Jesus would have been just another man and therefore unworthy of anyone’s faith.

Consider the implications if Mary were not a virgin. If that were the case, then the following things would be true: 1) She was a liar who claimed to have been visited by an angel and told that she would bear the Son of God; 2) She was unfaithful to her intended husband and, consequently, 3) Jesus was an illegitimate child with no divine nature. Not only that, but if the virgin birth were a lie, then Jesus was a crazy man who claimed to be the Son of God and died a martyr’s death trying to prove it.

In fact, for Jesus’ death to provide atonement, the virgin birth had to be true. A child born of a man and woman comes into the world with a sinful “flesh” nature (Rom. 5:12), but God required a perfect sacrifice to pay for sin. That message is all through the Old Testament (Deut. 17:1). Only Jesus, who was born of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18), could have paid our penalty in our place.

We cannot treat God’s Word like a religious buffet, where we choose the parts we will believe. Every fact, promise, and principle is included for a reason. The Father placed His Son in the womb of a virgin so that no one could doubt He was something special—the Lamb of God, Savior of the world.