April 18, 2019
Dear friends,
Tomorrow is Good Friday. For many people, it is just another day, for some it is a holiday and for those who love the Lord it is a solemn day which calls our attention to the supreme sacrifice that Jesus made in order to make it possible for us to have a personal relationship with God.
Have you ever watched a movie with no sound? Many years ago, producers of “silent” films added music to enhance the viewing pleasure of the audience. When Jesus hung on the cross for six hours, He probably did not listen to music to distract Him from the pain of a form of killing that was so terrible. The word “excruciating” (from two Latin words: ex cruciatus, or out of the cross) is defined in the dictionary as: “causing great pain or anguish: AGONIZING.” During the final three hours that Jesus hung on the cross (from Noon to 3 pm), darkness covered the earth. In his Bible study guide entitled “Jesus, Our Lord,” Charles Swindoll describes this as “truly the darkest hours in human history.” The One who created the universe and all that is in it, took the punishment that all of us deserved. To hear some amazing sounds from space, please visit: http://thespiritscience.net/2015/06/15/nasa-discovers-planets-and-stars-give-off-music-this-is-what-it-sounds-like/.
In his Bible dictionary, Merrill F. Unger writes: “The limbs of the victim were generally three or four feet from the earth. Before the nailing or binding took place a medicated cup was given out of kindness to confuse the senses and deaden the pangs of the sufferer (Prov. 31:6), usually of “wine mingled with myrrh,” because myrrh was soporific. Our Lord refused it that His senses might be clear (Matt.27:34; Mark 15:23).”
In commenting on the account of John in the 19th chapter of the fourth gospel, Charles Swindoll writes: “Jesus takes a drink, as if to clear His parched throat so His clarion call could be heard by all: Tetelestai – ‘It is finished!’ If the Crucifixion was the darkest moment in history, these words pierced through the clouds like a radiant beam of sunlight. The words don’t refer to the completion of His sufferings but the completion of the task He was born to do – to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21) It is a cry of victory … Jesus could now exchange His thorns for a crown, His nakedness for a robe, His disgrace for glory, His wounds for worship.”
This week I have been reading “Alou,” the autobiography of Felipe Alou, who left the Dominican Republic in the 1950s to play baseball in the United States and later moved to Canada to manage the Montreal Expos. In his book, Felipe tells how he rescued Juan Marichal, a future Hall of Fame pitcher, from drowning in the Caribbean Sea. A colleague told me yesterday about the time he saved the life of a friend who was drowning. If you haven’t repented of your sins, please read the following words of Charles Swindoll carefully: “If you’re without Christ, you’re treading water in a sea of sin. Things may appear calm, and you may feel you’ve got everything under control now. But one day you’ll go under and sink like a rock and drown. The only life preserver is Jesus; the only way to heaven is the bridge of the cross. You can’t swim to the other side on your own strength. If you’re in that situation, you can call out to Jesus – as Peter did when he was sinking – ‘Lord, save me!’ (Matt. 14:30) … Isn’t it about time you stopped treading and started trusting?”
Scripture for the weekend: “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 (NASB)
Thought for the weekend: “Never has it been more obvious that this world needs redemption -and that redemption is costly. The Cross more than ever, in our language and in our longings, is necessary to bridge the divide between God and us and between ourselves. Without the Cross, the chasm that separates us all from truth, love, justice, and forgiveness can never be crossed.” -Ravi Zacharias
By His grace,
Steve