Good Friday, April 7, 2023 | 25 Days

[In answer to the question, “Why did Jesus die?”]

Christ died for us. In addition to being necessary and voluntary, his death was altruistic and beneficial. He undertook it for our sake, not for his own, and he believed that through it he would secure for us a good which could be secured in no other way.

__Stott, John. The Cross of Christ . InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

To say that Jesus died for us is rather odd and uncomfortable.

Odd in that we are not used to people dying for us.

Our heroes give their lives for a worthy cause, our soldiers put their lives on the line to defend our nation. Our first-responders put their lives in harms way to rescue and stop evil. It is not uncommon to even hear of a random stranger who steps in front of a gunman to defend others or dives into the unknown to rescue.

But in all of these, dying is never the point and is considered tragic and regrettable when it happens.

However, dying was the point for Jesus. Matter of fact, dying for you was the point.

No wonder so many push back on that. Who wants to bear the burden of someone intentionally, eyes wide open, setting out to die on our behalf.

We don’t want that, we don’t need that…or do we?

That’s the huge question hanging over the Cross.

The ONE THING for today: There is a difference between a Cross and a Crucifix. A crucifix actually depicts Jesus hanging on the Cross. My Protestant background causes me to shy away from crucifixes but I showed one today as a reminder that Jesus did actually, literally, physically hang on a Cross…and at least in His mind, he did it for me and for you. Now that’s a troubling thought that bears further reflections.

Photo by Francesco Alberti on Unsplash