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[blockquote3] ” …Jesus said, ‘It is finished!’ Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” (John 19:30)[/blockquote3]
Mankind would never have understood God’s eternal triune nature – unless the Lord Jesus had personally revealed that to us. Nor would we have understood the depth of His love were it not for the gift of His own dear Son. In the fullness of time, Jesus willingly fulfilled His sacrificial mission as heaven’s Passover Lamb. He painfully died to pay for “…the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) With that understanding, pause to quietly consider His highly unnatural attitude on the cross. Even during His greatest suffering, His mind was on sinners. They were spiritually needy just like us! He mercifully interceded for all those who either wanted Him to die or were actively participating in His underserved crucifixion. He lovingly prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
Theologically, Jesus Christ stands alone in history! In comparison with Him, all the many imagined deities created by man, ultimately became meaningless. They were merely crude reflections of man’s own deeply sinful nature. Today, secular society is still subject to the same flawed reasoning, superstitions, and vain philosophies. In retrospect, we can easily see that the world’s superficial counterfeits were and remain spiritual empty and spurious. However, this Easter we must sadly also realize that from Adam, to Noah, to our own generation, only a relatively small percentage of the global population has ever acknowledged an understanding that God is – singular, knowable, personal, eternal, and unchangingly holy!
For the world’s benefit, a critical hour in our early history quietly took place. This happened when a man called Abram’s – name, life, and location were unexpectedly changed. This was carried out by the one true living God who called him (see Genesis 17:5; 2 Corinthians 11:22). Yahweh, his Creator, had first revealed Himself to Adam. Much later, during the time of Moses about 3,000 years ago, we were allowed to catch a glimpse of God’s self-revealing identity. At that time, He only described Himself as – “…I AM who I AM…” (Exodus 3:14)His continued generational self-disclosure was accomplished through a series of profound miracles and continued dialog with His people. Each of His chosen prophets underscored His unique – oneness, yet for centuries, His triune nature remained heaven’s intentional secret! His sovereign righteousness and monotheistic reality became the cornerstone of the Hebrew faith!
The 10 Commandments were written in stone and given by God for all humanity. In Hebrew thinking, both good and evil were readily acknowledged due to Eve’s tragic sin. Humanity’s initial sins became so serious during the lives of Cain and Able that unknown to them, their behavior alone would have made the Savior’s cross – necessary! Across the centuries, sin spread like a devastating cancer! Knowing what to do, but seldom actually doing it became man’s endless dilemma. We slowly learned that our sin was the actual foreseen reason why the Messiah chose to come. He therefore announced, “…the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
The Bible wonderfully declares, “God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Sin was universal and highly toxic, so man’s desperate condition initiated God’s redeeming spiritual response. The Bible explains, “…Christ suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18). Good Friday – was the world’s worst unthinkably shameful day! It was only after agonizing hours of substitution – that our Savior could finally proclaim, “…It is finished!…” (John 19:30) That timeless moment took place for all humanity, but like all of God’s many other blessings – His eternal and sinless sacrificial Lamb had to be recognized! Only then would God’s saving grace be – accepted! Today, with our heads bowed and our hearts humbled before God – the searching question remains: “Have I truly accepted Jesus, heaven’s Passover Lamb, as my Savior?
By Billie Hanks Jr.
