TerryLema

As I studied this week in preparation for Good Friday, I was reminded that as Jesus stood trial before the Roman Governor, Pilate confirmed Jesus’ innocence.  Twice he said that he found no basis for the charge of treason brought against Jesus. He had Jesus scourged hoping to create sympathy among His accusers. That didn’t work.  Pilate then offered to exchange Jesus for an already convicted traitor, Barabbas. That didn’t work either.

 Those accusing Jesus didn’t like, nor want, the type of Messiah Jesus claimed to be … one who would suffer for the sins of the world. They wanted something different; they wanted someone like Barabbas who was convicted of trying to throw off Roman rule. Their Messiah was to be bold and angry, not meek and humble.  So they abandoned the true and embraced the false.

 As I prayed and prepared, I was also reminded that their attitude toward Jesus was not very different from the current attitude toward Him. Our culture is changing the character and work of Jesus Christ, nullifying the cross, because we don’t think He fits what we want! Our culture wants a “Jesus” that embraces everything, never speaks of sin or punishment, death nor hell. It wants a Jesus that fits its idea of what a Savior should be, one that never confronts, nor judges, nor condemns. So, it abandons the true and embraces the false.

 They were wrong about Jesus then; and many are wrong about Jesus now. Jesus said that when He died and returned to the Father, He would send the Holy Spirit. Then He informed us what the work of the Holy Spirit would be.  

John 16:8-11:  “When [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”  

As we arrived last Saturday to the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto to see our grandson play Will Parker in the musical “Oklahoma,” a woman arrived about the same time. She came by bike, settled herself on the corner outside the center and began to sing. She had a strong, clear voice and sang songs I remember singing in my twenties.

After the performance inside, she was still performing outside. We said our goodbyes to family and started to walk to the parking garage. I felt God drawing me toward her and I pulled some money out of my wallet. As I walked toward her, she called out, “are you heading toward me?” I said, “Yes, I am.”  Then she responded, “well, I’ll head toward you.”

As we closed the distance, I realized she was not as young as she first appeared, in fact, closer to my age.  I also realized life had not been kind to her. I slipped her the money and opened my arms to her. We stood on the corner as I hugged her, and she hugged back. She was thin, I could feel her bones, but still there was a light in her eyes. I told her “you take care!” and hugged her again. She gave me one last hug and said that she would.

I don’t know what kind of choices she made in life, or perhaps what kind of choices were made for her that she found herself on a Saturday night in downtown Modesto singing for donations outside a performing arts center. With her voice, she possibly could have been singing inside.

I know I felt God’s love for her. We stood there, two old women, one black, one white, strangers, hugging and blessing each other on a street corner. She blessed me for the little bit of money I gave her. I blessed her for reminding me that there are real people behind Jesus’ command, “whatever you do for the least of these…you do for me.” [Matt 25:40, paraphrased]

The California hotel we booked was being re-modeled, which means there was a plethora of construction materials and people. We stayed there last October, and honestly, it didn’t seem that they’ve done much in the six months that have passed.  If anything, it looked worse.  The wing we were in has been finished, somewhat. Our room was pleasant but had one problem when we first got there.

The window blinds would not open.  The chains to roll them up and down were off the tracks, so they were permanently closed.  I-Like-Light. One of the first things I do every day is open my blinds and let the light shine in, no matter the season.  Living for about 18 hours with no outside light had me grumpy (well, grumpier than usual). We let the management know and they did send maintenance to realign the chains. The room was then ablaze with California sunshine!

Jesus told His followers in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  [NIV]

 I find one part of Luke’s crucifixion account compelling.  As Jesus, “The Light of the World” was dying on the cross, darkness shrouded the land for three hours.  From the sixth hour until the ninth, noon to 3 PM, the skies became black “…for the sun stopped shining.”  It was then that the curtain of the temple was torn in two and Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” [23:44-46]

The “Light of the World” returned to the Father. The Light of the Glory of God held in reserve in the Holy of Holies was now flowing out to all.  Soon the Father would send His Spirit, just as the Son promised. And for those who now surrender to Him, He puts His light in us!  Glory!

I’m sitting in our hotel room as I write this, listening to the traffic whiz by on nearby Highway 99 and thinking, I love California; I hate California. (That’s where we were the past few days when I was offline.)

I love California because my son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons are here. When we are with them we get to do all those things that “near-by” grandparents get to do, things like baseball games, speech meets, plays, and just hanging out.  The time flies by and too soon we are heading back to Idaho.

I hate California because there is traffic everywhere, all the time. It never stops. Every place is busy.  The gas prices now are through the roof. We paid $4.15/gallon at one point!

Maybe I just don’t feel at home in California anymore, which sounds odd to me since I lived there from 1955 to 1993. I graduated from high school in California and met my husband (of now 52 years) there. Our three children were born and raised there. So, there is much of California with which I am familiar. But…it is evident that California has changed a lot since I left. My conservative views and lifestyle are probably not as welcome as they once were.

I was thinking this morning about how God loves this world.  Even though it is not the perfect Garden He created, even though sin and judgment fell upon it with mankind’s rebellion, even though His holiness lifestyle is not often welcomed, He still loves it…and us.  Too often we read John 3:16-17 without giving it the attention it deserves. Maybe we should focus on it today as we lead up to Resurrection Sunday.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

  I must admit, I still love California, maybe more than I am willing to admit!

If there is anything that we should be reminded of in the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday, it is how much Christ Jesus loves us. It was Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians that they grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.  He wanted them (and us) to know this love that surpasses knowledge.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” [Eph 3:16-19]

I’ve read the Gospel accounts of Gethsemane, the trials, the torture and mockery, and the events of the cross.  I know about them. I know how Jesus prayed, how many trials there were and before whom they were conducted. I can describe the torture and even how Jesus’ body responded on the cross. I also know the words He spoke there.

I know. But…it is only when I allow myself to “feel between the lines” that I begin to grasp the scope of the love that is buried within. That’s when “knowledge” drops the 18-inches from my head to my heart.

How wide is the love of Christ Jesus? Wide enough to sweat drops of blood across Gethsemane. How long? Long enough to last throughout eternity. How high? High enough to be lifted up from the earth on a rough wooden cross.  How deep? Deep enough to bear the nail wounds, the crown of thorns beaten deep into His Head, and the sword that pierced His side.  All. For. Us

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all.”    [Isaiah 53:6]

How often have I heard people tell me, “It’s not fair!”  Something has entered their life that they believe they don’t deserve. They are stunned by the unfairness of it. Many times, they are right, it really is not fair. But then, I remind them, and myself¸ that life isn’t fair. We expect justice, righteousness, peace, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, especially in our nation. And often, we get everything but.

However, I haven’t heard too many people claim that “It’s not fair” after they read Isaiah 53:6. The prophet reminds us that each of us … every one of us … has turned to our own way.  We want to live our lives the way we want to live our lives, no interference from anyone, not even from God.  We have that defiant toddler-spirit “No!” engrained in us.

When the prophet reminds us that The Father laid on Jesus all our iniquity, we aren’t so quick to say, “It’s not fair!” And yet, this is the most “unfair” event in all of eternity. God took the sins of all of us and laid them on His sinless Son, Christ Jesus, so that the Father’s House could become our house, and we could become His adopted sons and daughters.

“For [God] made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” [2 Cor 5:21 NKJV]

It doesn’t seem fair, does it?  But, oh, so, precious for us.

“But he [Jesus] 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.”  [Isaiah 53:5]

His punishment brought us peace. His wounds brought us healing.

No longer are we at war with our Creator. Jesus opened the way for us to become sons and daughters of “Abba, Father.”  He did that when He offered Himself as our sacrifice on that cross. He drank the bitter cup that should have been ours to drink. He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed because of our sins.

No longer do we lie wounded and broken on the ground of mankind’s rebellion. The wounds Jesus suffered bring healing to our spirits, our souls and sometimes even our bodies.  The sin sickness in which we lived found healing in the wounds of our Savior.

I know I’ve spent a lot of time lately around the sufferings of Jesus. For me, now, that is a good thing. I often focus solely on the benefits that are mine and yours as Children of “Abba, Father.” I focus on the comfort, the peace, the renewal and restoration. I focus on the promised blessings of heaven and the Presence of our LORD.  And that is a good thing to focus on since life here often drains us of the good.

But we must never become so jaded that we accept the blessings without remembering their cost. They may be free to us … but the price that our LORD Christ Jesus bore was a heavy one. He was pierced, crushed, punished and wounded so that we could be saved.  Praise His Holy Name!

“Yet He [Jesus] Himself bore our sicknesses and He carried our pains, but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted.”  [Isaiah 53:4 Christian Standard Bible]

That verse, of course, is part of the prophetic utterance of Isaiah regarding our Savior’s sufferings and cross.

“He carried our pains.” Other translations say that “He carried our sorrows.” Either way, our pain, our sorrows, were borne by our Savior.

As I read that phrase this morning, I was reminded of Matthew 11:28-30:  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  [NIV]

Jesus carried our pains and sorrows to the cross. That burden was so heavy, so devastating that the mere thought of what He would have to endure made Him think He might die from the sorrow alone.  Because He bore our burden, our sicknesses, our pains … because He was struck down and afflicted, He now offers us a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light.

What a trade!  I think I’ll spend today praising Him for taking my heavy burden.

I was reminded recently about the groups of people gathered around the cross. There were the ones who loved Jesus and stood weeping. Scripture tells us of John, the beloved disciple, Jesus’ mother, and a few other women who had gathered.

Then there were those who hated Jesus and who mocked and cursed, shouting hateful things to a man who had done nothing but good – just because He didn’t fit their idea of what the Messiah should be.

There was also a third group, the Romans Soldiers. For them, this was just a job to get finished, they couldn’t care less about the men on those crosses, they were just indifferent.

But as I thought about those groups, I heard the LORD say something that stopped me short.  He said, “don’t be so sure you would have been among the weepers.”

Those words pierced my soul. If I had been there, would my heart have been tender, or would it have been hardened or indifferent?

Of course, now my heart has been softened by God, and if I saw this happening today, I would weep. But I know that my heart was hard and desperately wicked before Christ changed me. I have come to accept that I just may have been among those who cursed.  That is an extremely humbling thought.   [Jeremiah 17:9]

Today I am so grateful for the salvation Christ purchased that gave me a new heart, soft and tender before God. I am so much more in love with my Savior than I have ever been. Today, I am stand among the weepers. Thank you, Lord.