This month, most Churches in our area will be celebrating Easter, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus. But before we celebrate new life, we need to walk with Jesus to the Cross and death. All four gospels in the New Testament of the Bible tell us the story of Jesus, and all four gospels end up at the Cross. The Cross was an instrument of torture and death in the Roman Empire. It was used as the most humiliating and most terrible method of putting someone to death – and it was reserved for rebellious slaves, violent criminals, and those who were politically opposed to the rule of Rome. If you think about who was normally nailed to a Cross, the Cross was reserved for those people and times when the powers-that-be wanted to make an example of somebody; to make a point; to send a warning out to everybody; to make people afraid. But like so many other things, Jesus turns the regular way of thinking about the Cross on its head - not about fear and punishment, and death – but instead, about love, and life. I’m indebted to a colleague and friend of mine, Wes Smith, pastor at Zion Lutheran here in Waynesboro, for doing some research into the gospel of John. If you’ve ever read the gospel of John, you know that loveis an incredibly important word in John’s gospel. You may have seen “John 3:16” on a sign in the end zone of a football game, or heard the term “gospel in a nutshell” spoken of that scripture passage from John’s gospel: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” That’s John 3:16. What’s interesting is that the word “love” (or “loved”) appears seven times in John’s gospel prior to the time Jesus is about to be arrested. But from the time in John’s gospel (chapter 13:1) when Jesus gathers with his disciples in an upper room to the time he’s arrested and lifted up on the cross, John records Jesus using the word thirty (30) times! He talks about the love shared between God the Father and himself, he urges the disciples to love one another, and to abide in God’s love – if you’ve ever seen a couple holding hands, happy in each other’s company, that’s abiding- wanting to be close with each other. The closer Jesus gets to the Cross, the more he talks about love. The Bible also contains three letters of John, and in the first of the three, John is very deliberate to make the connection between Jesus and God and love. “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins…there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.” (I John 3:10, 18) Remember, the Cross was designed by the Romans to be a symbol of fear. But Jesus changes it into something different! It’s a sign of God’s love for the world, so that fear can be CAST OUT, and punishment with it. The message of the Cross and the Easter message which follows is not about Fear, but about the LIFE God wants for this world, and for you and me. That’s the Good News we celebrate, as we follow Jesus to the Cross on Good Friday, and then find the empty tomb on Easter, and Jesus risen to new life. In Jesus we are FREE FROM FEAR AND PUNISHMENT. The closer you get to the Cross, the more Jesus talks about love. I hope this Gospel (which means Good News) message finds its way into your heart and mind – and life! – as you celebrate the Cross and Resurrection this month!
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AuthorPastor Paul came to Grace to serve as our Pastor in October 2012. After a first career in product and graphic design, he was ordained in 1993, and has served as a parish pastor in Virginia and South Carolina. He is married to Jill and they have two daughters, one at Roanoke College and one at James Madison University. Archives
December 2021
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