During our class last Tuesday (11/6), it was suggested that Jesus was concerned that His separation from God would be eternal rather than temporary, that this concern was expressed in prayer while at Gethsemane, and that this is the prayer that was answered, as referenced in Hebrews 5:7. I've been turning this thought over in my mind, and it keeps bumping up against a couple of things:
1. Though I do believe that Jesus "grew" into an understanding of the Father's will ( as it seems He actively sought the Father out about it during His lifetime [John 5:30]), I think that He was aware that His separation from God, though complete, would be temporary as He knew He would rise from the grave on the third day.
In Luke 24:46 Jesus says "Yes it was written long ago that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again from the dead on the third day." (If He was brought to life---the key to the saving work on the cross; without the resurrection our faith is useless [1 Corinthians 15:17]---could He still remain eternally separate from God?)
In John 16:28 when He is speaking to the disciples He says, "Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and I will leave the world and return to the Father."
Isaiah 53:10-12 ( a portion of scripture Jesus would have been familiar with during His lifetime) says:
After he has suffered, he will see the light of life [b] and be satisfied [c]; by his knowledge [d] my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, [e] and he will divide the spoils with the strong, [f] because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Could a reward of this nature be possible if He was eternally separated from the Father?)
In Hebrews 12:2b "He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward". (Could Jesus embrace joy being separate from the Father for eternity?)
2. Could Jesus, as part of the Godhead, truly be separate from the Father for eternity? That seems to somehow go against His very nature.
I don't think this needs to take away from the idea that Jesus was willing to pay the cost, no matter how high, even if it meant eternal separation, but, I don't think this is what Christ believed, and I don't think it is what He prayed. Blackaby in Experiencing the Cross says it this way: "Jesus grasped fully the message and the promise of Scripture. And because He trusted His Father and remained yielded and obedient to His will, He knew that death---even deepest death---would not be the end of the story."
However, there is still a puzzle over how Jesus' prayer was answered. If we look at the prayer Jesus prayed in Gethsemane as recorded in Luke 22: 42-45, there may be another possible answer to this question.
42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.[a]
Perhaps the answer to Jesus' prayer was, "My Son, I can not take this cup of suffering from You, but I can strengthen You to endure it", and then the angels came and ministered to Him. When he returned to His disciples He kept exhorting them to pray lest they fall into temptation... perhaps this is the very thing He was wrestling with.
However, this is a guess as well. We don't really know the full extent of what he prayed. What is recorded in scripture is probably only a portion of it.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Pruning
I truly don't have a "green thumb". I could say I have a "black thumb", and that would be true in more ways than one :). In response to lesson 9, question 2, I looked up pruning on the internet and found this article. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/pruning/pruning.html There's probably far more information there than anyone needs to know about pruning :), however read from the point of view of a spiritual analogy, I found it intriguing. Much of the language of pruning lends itself to insightful observations. It's just one more example of how the Father uses nature to explain who He is, and how He works with us.
Enjoy!
p.s. any insights you discover from reading this article would be welcome :)
Enjoy!
p.s. any insights you discover from reading this article would be welcome :)
Christ Made Sin
I just wanted to explain my statement in class today that "not only did Christ bare our sin, but scripture says that Christ became sin". 2 Corinthians 5:21 says,
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin [a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV)
1 Peter 2:24 He himself carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did it so that we would die as far as sins are concerned. Then we would lead godly lives. His wounds have made you whole. He personally carried away our sin in his own body
Henry Blackaby in his study Experiencing the Cross summarizes it this way: "Jesus---the One who knew no sin, the One who had never sinned---was made the essence of sin for us, all by the deliberate action and purpose of God the Father". That takes some pondering.
A later question in the study asks: How would you explain the concept of "Christ made sin" to someone who had never heard or read anything from the Bible?
He personally carried away our sin in His own body so we don't have to carry the burden of it in our own flesh any more. It was as though for a moment in time every vile, wicked, putrid thing mankind has ever done or imagined doing He allowed Himself to be covered with, as though He committed those sins Himself. It's like taking someone else's cancer into your own body so they do not need to suffer death or the effects of the disease.
Actually, it's deeper than just taking our "cancer" from us into His own body; it's as though He became the disease and in so doing when He died, the disease died with Him, bringing with it the ultimate cure, so no one would ever have to die from "cancer" again (should they choose to receive His sacrifice on their behalf).
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin [a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV)
1 Peter 2:24 He himself carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did it so that we would die as far as sins are concerned. Then we would lead godly lives. His wounds have made you whole. He personally carried away our sin in his own body
Henry Blackaby in his study Experiencing the Cross summarizes it this way: "Jesus---the One who knew no sin, the One who had never sinned---was made the essence of sin for us, all by the deliberate action and purpose of God the Father". That takes some pondering.
A later question in the study asks: How would you explain the concept of "Christ made sin" to someone who had never heard or read anything from the Bible?
He personally carried away our sin in His own body so we don't have to carry the burden of it in our own flesh any more. It was as though for a moment in time every vile, wicked, putrid thing mankind has ever done or imagined doing He allowed Himself to be covered with, as though He committed those sins Himself. It's like taking someone else's cancer into your own body so they do not need to suffer death or the effects of the disease.
Actually, it's deeper than just taking our "cancer" from us into His own body; it's as though He became the disease and in so doing when He died, the disease died with Him, bringing with it the ultimate cure, so no one would ever have to die from "cancer" again (should they choose to receive His sacrifice on their behalf).
First We Pray: Lesson 8---Question 9
How had Christ lived His entire life in preparation for the crucifixion---submitting to the will of the Father?
A. Describe Christ's ordeal in the Garden of Gethsemane.
B. What did Christ's obedience accomplish for the world and for us?
I would like to recommend the study Experiencing the Cross, by Henry Blackaby. There is a book, and a companion study guide.
For a person who "grew up in a Christian home", hearing the phrase "Christ died for my sins", was fairly commonplace, and over time, the depth of meaning was "lost" for me. This study, more than any other has enabled me to see the depth of Christ's sacrifice for me, and how it truly impacts every day of my life. Without Christ's work on the cross I would be forever floundering in my sin, unable to choose life, living out my death sentence every day---bound to my flesh with no escape. My life would be without hope, meaning or purpose. But, "in the cross... He made complete and total provision for every aspect of what sin has done or ever could do."(Blackaby)
A. Describe Christ's ordeal in the Garden of Gethsemane.
B. What did Christ's obedience accomplish for the world and for us?
I would like to recommend the study Experiencing the Cross, by Henry Blackaby. There is a book, and a companion study guide.
For a person who "grew up in a Christian home", hearing the phrase "Christ died for my sins", was fairly commonplace, and over time, the depth of meaning was "lost" for me. This study, more than any other has enabled me to see the depth of Christ's sacrifice for me, and how it truly impacts every day of my life. Without Christ's work on the cross I would be forever floundering in my sin, unable to choose life, living out my death sentence every day---bound to my flesh with no escape. My life would be without hope, meaning or purpose. But, "in the cross... He made complete and total provision for every aspect of what sin has done or ever could do."(Blackaby)
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