The Road to the Light

Monday, March 5, 2018

Mark 10: 32-34: And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, He began to tell them what was to happen to Him, saying, "Se, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise."

Now you may think that the title doesn't match up with the text. Jesus is saying a lot about "gloom and doom" that will happen to Him. Everyone is aware of being handed over to the Gentiles means. It means crucifixion. It means a horrible way to die. I can understand why His followers would be afraid. And it would be natural for us to fixate on all the pain and suffering that will happen to Jesus. And that is why we would naturally focus on the title being wrong.

NOW, let's focus on the last sentence that Jesus says here. "And after three days He will rise." Everyone was so focused on the "lead up" that they missed the point. Jesus was going to die a horrible, gruesome, and humiliating death. AND Jesus was going to rise to life. Jesus was going to go through the agony of the crucifixion only to come back to life. Jesus was going to die to be the one time sacrifice for the sins of humanity for all time in order to forgive humanity and rise to give humanity a brand new life that lives with Him and for Him. By means of Jesus' death, He has destroyed the influence of sin, evil, and the Evil One. By means of Jesus' resurrection, He has brought life, light, and immortality to all who believe in Jesus. This is GOOD NEWS. 

And this is the good news that we celebrate AND live out every day. We first are sad and afraid of what our sins cause to happen in us and what God had to do. We are ALSO joyous in believing that Jesus' death and resurrection freed us from sin, cleansed us from all unrighteousness, and gave to us a brand new life. God, thank You for all you did to save me and give me life, Amen.