“And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS. With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, And He was numbered with the transgressors. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross! Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him. Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? Which is translated, My God, My God, why have you forsake me? Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, Look, He is calling for Elijah! Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down. And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last” (Mark 15:22-37)
That right there is the single greatest sacrifice that has ever been made and the single greatest gift that has ever been given. Jesus’ crucifixion is the single most significant moment in human history because that was the moment that God won His victory over sin and death and redemption was made possible for the world. Everything in the Bible before Jesus’ death pointed forward to Jesus’ death, and everything in the Bible after Jesus’ death points backward to Jesus’ death. But Jesus’ death didn’t just impact the world in general; it impacted my life and your life personally. Because of Jesus’ death nothing has to be the same for us anymore. But it only changes everything if we do something with it. So what should we do with Jesus’ death?
We should remember it. In fact, God made sure there was a mechanism put into place to ensure that we would remember it. The night before His crucifixion Jesus sat His disciples down to observe the Passover and used that as an opportunity to install another, more significant memorial feast:
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, Take, eat; this is My body. Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God” (Mark 14:22-25).
Through the Lord’s Supper we remember Jesus’ death every first day of the week. It calls us back to the cross and reminds us of exactly what price Jesus paid for our sins. But really we should remember it more often than that. We may only observe the Lord’s Supper once a week but it we don’t carry the burden of Jesus’ death with us every single day I wonder if it has really impacted us the way it should.
We should honor it. How do we honor Jesus’ death? How do you honor anyone’s death? By living your life in such a way as to respect their wishes and values. So to honor Jesus’ death we live every single day according to His will. At least Paul looked at Jesus’ death as such in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 – “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” What was it that got Paul up every morning, pushed him through everyday, and strengthened him in the midst of every difficult thing he had to do? His desire to honor Jesus’ death in every way that he possibly could. The cross of Christ should compel us to no longer live for ourselves, but for Him as well.
We should share it. Jesus’ death was not only the most significant event in world history but it is also the greatest news that could ever be told. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is what made redemption possible and if we are going to help people get to heaven we’ve got to tell them about Jesus, His life, His ministry, His teachings, His miracles, His sufferings, and His death. Paul talked about that death as being the main focus of His preaching – “…but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). That’s the message that has the power to save souls. If we can go our entire lives as Christians and never share the news of Jesus’ death with others I’ve got to wonder if it really meant anything to us to begin with.
There is nothing that should mean more to us than Jesus’ sacrifice that was made on our behalves. It paid a debt He didn’t owe and paid a debt we couldn’t pay. But actions are going to speak much louder than words or thoughts when it comes to Jesus’ death and the impact that it has made in our lives. So what should we do with Jesus’ death? We should remember it, honor it, and share its good news every single day.
-Andy
Photo by Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE on Unsplash
Thank you for this reminder. Great article.