So he delivered him over to them to be
crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the
place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There
they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus
between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It
read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (John 19:16–19 ESV).
When Jesus went to the cross for you, you were not worth
dying for. It wasn’t something in you that convinced him to bear the nails, the
thorns, the wrath. We’ve heard so much about his real and wondrous love for us
that we might forget his love is wondrous precisely because we were not.
Because, when he set his loving eyes on us, we were corrupt, defiant,
repulsive. We were the treacherous wife prostituting herself out and then
spending the husband’s money on other lovers. We should have been swallowed by
holy rage, not by his mercy.
There is so much truth in this quote.
The Apostle Paul said it as well:
For while we were still weak, at the right time
Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous
person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God
shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since,
therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved
by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:6–9 ESV).
In our church, Gospel City Church in Arlington,
Texas, the pastor is often heard remarking that “Jesus paid the debt we could
never pay and died the death we all deserved.” He is so correct!
Think on this truth. The Creator of all
things; the One who by His word alone spoke all of the universe into existence;
and the only One who bore no guilt took our sin and guilt to the cross on our
behalf. Can we ever comprehend the vast significance of that truth? John Calvin
said of the cross: “Sin was conquered on the cross. [Christ's] death is the
foundation of our hope, the promise of our triumph!” Could there be any greater
grace extended than that… well, we shall see there is one more great gift of
grace. When Jesus stepped forth from that tomb eternally resurrected, He also
conquered death itself on our behalf! This is the Amazing Grace of our God!
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