Matthew 27:50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

It has always struck me that Jesus didn’t simply die, the way just about everyone dies, with the pulse dropping and the like, He chose the moment of leaving His body. “Crying out in a loud voice” is not exactly common, because a dying person generally doesn’t have the strength to do that. That reinforces the reality that this was a willing sacrifice; Jesus chose to die for us. Paul expounded on this. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8) Pilate had no concept of this. “‘Do you refuse to speak to me?’ Pilate said. ‘Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’” (John 19:10) Jesus was doing what He and the Father and the Spirit had agreed on before creation, when They knew that mankind would sin. This is the greatest mystery in the world, and calls for meditation and the help of the Holy Spirit to grasp it, because it is outside of human comprehension. That a Member of the Godhead would choose to die for us is the most astounding thing ever, and is posited in no other religion. People have said that Christianity is “a bloody religion,” meaning to put it down, but Jesus’ sacrifice is actually our pride and joy, because without it, we would have no hope. As it is, He not only died for our sins, He also rose on the third day to demonstrate the reality and the finality of His sacrifice, and the victory it gives us over physical and spiritual death.

I could write at considerable length on this, and indeed, many books have been written on the subject, including by a close family friend. (Interpreting the Atonement, by Robert H. Culpepper) What is more important is that I live each moment of my physical life in the awareness of what God has done for me in Christ, so that I will be properly prepared to live eternally in full fellowship with my Lord. I have ignored that reality more often than I care to think about, even after God brought me back to repentance in 1972, and even after He baptized me in His Spirit in 1974. Human free will is real, and I need to keep my commitment fresh and consistent. Jesus gave everything for me, and I in turn need to keep myself on the altar, and not crawl off! (Romans 12:1)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You did yesterday, and all You enabled me to do. Thank You for Your plans for today. I do ask Your healing for the cold Cathy seems to have, and for wisdom in whether she is to go to rehab this morning. I pray that as the team comes this afternoon to peel the old cushion flooring from the sanctuary that everyone will have the necessary strength and skill to do a good job, and that laying the new flooring tomorrow will likewise go smoothly. And I do pray for our Internet connection to be restored! Thank You. Praise God!