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Thanks to Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ, millions
of people are asking questions about Jesus' person and ministry.
It is good that the word "the" was included before
the term "Christ." After all, Christ is not just another
name (or a last name) for Jesus; it is a title derived from
the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Mashiach, "the
Anointed One" (hence, Messiah). The key question throughout
Jesus' ministry was (and is), "Is Jesus God's Messiah?"
If He was, why did the Jerusalem-based religious leaders seek
to have Him crucified? However, the important question is not,
"What did those people do to Jesus way back then?"
It is rather, "What are we, who claim Jesus as Savior and
Messiah-King today, doing with His call to follow Him in discipleship?"
According to some, Jesus (or "Christ") came that
He might eventually die on a cross simply to suffer the punishment
that we deserve for our sins so that we might be forgiven
and assured of a place in heaven. Although truth is embedded
in that understanding, a bigger issue is at stake. In Jesus
the Christ, the Davidic dynasty was being restored —
not in the people's way but in God's radical way.
George MacDonald once wrote:
They were all waiting for a king, to slay their foes and
raise them high.
Thou cam'st a little baby thing, that made a woman cry.
We do well to add another line — a line that explains
why Jesus finally went to His cross.
Thou cam'st to do Thy servant thing, on cruel cross to
die.
Jesus' entire life was a passionate saving event in that
He was a radical king who walked the way of a servant-without-limit.
The last thing the demonic realm wanted was that Jesus (or
anyone!) should walk that way. Jesus' ministry throughout
was a battle with the forces of the demonic, sin, and death.
When we read John 19:30 carefully, we find that Jesus gave
His life away — and, according to John 12:31, in doing
so conquered the demonic. The irony is that at the cross,
when Jesus got crucified, Satan got "nailed." Furthermore,
Jesus formed a people to carry out a radical mission to begin
restoring (this side of eternity) God's original intention
for humanity.
Jesus called, and calls, His followers to walk through life
as He did — passionately devoting all of life to glorifying
God by serving others, with no regard for borders, flags,
and skin color. All with no thought of reward! Although the
implications are enormous, God's people today must grapple
with them.
For 25 years, Crossways International has been making available
a variety of courses and materials (from the most basic to
in-depth) to help people understand the big Jesus Story and
its implications for their lives today. Among other things,
we offer a study of the distinctive passion narrative told
in each of the four Gospels (Road to Coronation). After all,
each Gospel sees and tells the Jesus Story through its own
lens. Moreover, we have also produced some of our teaching
graphics in flash-card form so that parents (the real teachers!)
can share the Bible's "big story" and "good
news" with their children — and we offer Family
Faith Formation events to equip parents to do that. Give us
a call. During office hours, a real person (not a machine)
will be happy to discuss and serve your needs. |
