On the news this morning there was coverage of some tornadoes that devastated parts of Oklahoma Wednesday night. The news anchor was interviewing a 14-year old boy who took a picture of the upper part of a telephone pole, which had been broken and flung through the air, coming to rest suspended by several electrical lines.
I have been "in" a tornado. It was one of the most frightening things I've ever lived through. When the picture was made, this boy and his family were driving around to check on friends and loved ones, to see if they were unharmed.
The caption he tweeted along with his photo was "God was with us."
And you shall call His name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14
That verse is often quoted at Christmas time, to celebrate that fact that Jesus' birth as a human marked the beginning of a time when He was "with us" bodily/physically for about 33 years. The culmination of His time "with us" then was to accomplish the work He was sent to do. He was sent to reveal to us Father and to reconcile us to Him: to satisfy Father's holiness by paying for our sin.
Immanuel, God with us, so that God could live in us, be with us, eternally.
This morning's main text is John 19:17-42 in which the apostle records his personal experiences during the 24 hours of Jesus' earthly life before the crucifixion. This is not a text I eagerly blog about. What Father put His Son through, put Himself through, for my sake was horrific.
And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 24 They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:
“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Therefore the soldiers did these things.
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary thewife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave himpermission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
Why this was necessary to appease my holy Father, I cannot fully understand. Why He would want us ... want to redeem us, is beyond my comprehension. Still, I cannot turn away from such love, from such sacrifice. I cannot walk away from that gospel picture of selfless suffering, unchanged. Such a great love compels me. It compelled me to choose Him, some 45 years ago; and, it compels me to worship and follow Him through the twists and turns of this mortal life. God with us.
Father knew, has eternally known, that we, His creation, made in His image, are made of dust. He knew that we would reject Him, long before our creation. His plan to reconcile us to Himself was in place before Adam was formed from the dirt of Eden's ground.
He was with us in Eden. And, His heart was broken there.
He was with the patriarchs and prophets and warriors and kings of the Old Testament. And, His heart was broken over and over as His message of reconciliation continued to be rejected.
He sent His Son, because He had always known that No One else "would do", to bring us --- the wandering, the rebellious, the defiant, the crazed, the beaten, the ruined, the fallen - - - back to Him.
And, His heart was broken there, on Golgotha.
God with us.
Even as Jesus hung on that timber, the one He carried up Golgotha to the summit, He never cursed us or even uttered an unloving word. He steadfastly, resolutely fulfilled Old Testament scriptures, one after another, finishing the work ordained by His Father, while with His Father before this world began.
The most dramatic picture of the redemption, the restoration, the welcoming, is seen in the Temple, as the veil (separating the most holy place in the Temple from the next outer room) is suddenly, violently ripped in two from the top to the bottom. (Matthew 27:51) This "veil" was no flimsy lightweight. It was a huge, heavy curtain, weighing hundreds of pounds. This tearing was a supernatural act, symbolizing the beginning of the most intimate relationship between man and his Creator, symbolizing the communion of Eden, restored.
God with us.
There are times I don't feel this, when I question Him: "God, are you there?" Fortunately, the promises of God are greater than our feelings. His promise is that He will be with us, His Beloved, always, even unto the end of the age. He said these words as He was ascending bodily into the sky. So, He meant them to be interpreted as "with us in Spirit". Obviously, physically, His body was leaving this earthly plane. For a time.
And He is. He is with us. His Spirit lives in every one who calls Him Savior Lord.
He is with us in our "close calls", in our joys, in our griefs, in our struggles, in our loves, in our life and in our death. He is ever with us.
Hallelujah, Praise His Name! The Lamb of God for sinners slain. He takes away the scarlet stain. Oh Hallelujah, Praise His Name!
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