Welcome to Tuesday’s podcast. Yesterday we began our week by remembering that the Bible is the story of God’s plan for the world and for us, and that it is the story of Jesus the King, who changes everything.

I also said that the Bible is a story of love and of rescue; and our focus today is on Jesus the Rescuer.

REFLECTION:

The Bible passage is Matthew 27 vs45-56. Rather than having the Bible passage read at the end of the podcast, I’m going to read a paraphrase of this whole passage from The Jesus Storybook Bible at the beginning.

“Papa?” Jesus cried, frantically searching the sky. “Papa? Where are you? Don’t leave me!”

And for the first time, and the last, when he spoke, nothing happened. Just a horrible, endless silence. God didn’t answer. He turned away from his Boy.

Tears rolled down Jesus’ face. The face of the One who would wipe away every tear from every eye.

Even though it was midday, a dreadful darkness covered the face of the world. The sun could not shine. The earth trembled and quaked. The great mountains shook. Rocks split in two. Until it seemed that the whole world would break. That creation itself would tear apart.

The full force of the storm of God’s fierce anger at sin was coming down. On his own Son. Instead of his people. It was the only way God could destroy sin, and not destroy his children whose hearts were filled with sin.

Then Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, “It is finished!”

And it was. He had done it. Jesus had rescued the whole world.

“Father!” Jesus cried. “I give you my life.” And with a great sigh he let himself die.

Over the past few years the BBC Natural History department has made some great TV programmes, giving us real moments of drama – who can forget the racer snakes chasing newly hatched baby iguanas down the beach!

At the moment I’m watching their latest production – Dynasties – which last month had the nation in tears as it showed a lioness called Charm, make the clearly agonising decision to walk away from her 1 year old cub, leaving him to die alone. The film crew showed her twice looking back over her shoulder, before finally turning her back on him, because she knew that the rest of the pride needed her for their survival. She left her son to die, in order that the whole pride might be saved.

We see the same drama in the Bible passage today. In verse 46 Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” I like the Jesus Storybook Bible language and explanation of this. Jesus cries out to God: “Don’t leave me!” But God had turned away from his one and only Son.

Jesus’ words show his humanity. That very human fear of being left, abandoned, isolated……with no-one to rescue him. And whether you are a parent or not, it is hard for any of us to imagine the pain that God the Father went through as he made the decision to turn his back, to walk away, to leave his Son and not to rescue him. Because in this moment on the cross, God left his son to die, in order that the whole world might be rescued from the consequence of sin – which is death.

Returning to the BBC Dynasties series, the week before the lion drama, we watched an emotional roller coaster of an episode all about emperor penguins. During a fierce Antartic storm, a group of penguins and their chicks were blown into a gully with sides of ice. They had no hope of survival. The programme showed one particular penguin clawing its way out of the gully, but leaving its chick behind to die. That penguin chose to save itself, rather than face death.

In the crucifixion, Jesus does the complete opposite. He could have chosen to save himself. He could have used all the power and might of heaven to pull off the most dramatic, miraculous rescue of all time. But he didn’t. For me, it is this act that proves his perfect, sinless nature.