Thoughts in Worship
Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Wednesday, September 21, 2016

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We are focusing on getting to know God from the perspective of John the beloved.

Today’s Scripture Focus: “Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.” (John 18:8-9).

With the determination of a loving father, Jesus faced the end of His life. He set His face as flint in the direction of Calvary. Nothing and no one could divert His path. He received the final unction that He needed to go through with the plan to become our substitute on the cross, paying the ultimate price for sin. As His accusers and His disciples approached Him, He was fully aware of the consequences of His holy life. The contradiction was apparent. He knew that His holiness stood in such contrast to the evil that surrounded Him, that the enemies of God were almost compelled to lash out. Instead of embracing the Saviour with arms of acceptance and gratitude, they would finally choose to reach forth their hands to forcefully cart Him from place to place, and falsely accuse Him to the point that He would be unjustly murdered. Although His accusers acted contrary to conscience and justice, the eternal plan of salvation included their vicious acts in the overall purpose of humankind. Jesus was to be lead as a sheep to the slaughter. He was to stand before wicked men as a sheep before its shearers and open not His mouth (Isaiah 53).
As the mob approached Jesus in this providential confrontation, He asked a question that would be recorded in the annals of history and overlooked by many. “Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.” (John 18:7). There is a glorious truth wrapped up in this simple question. He continued once the murderous throng responded by saying, if they sought Him, then they should allow His disciples to go their way. The plan of salvation became crystal clear in my mind as I contemplated these words. The Lord stood in the gap between heaven and hell for us. The justice of the broken law of God was unsheathed as a sharp sword, and aimed at the lives of those who offended it. As the perfect substitute and the only One who could buy our pardon, Jesus absorbed the blow that required His life in our stead. He said to the offended law of God, “If you are looking for someone to punish, please destroy me, and let these, my people, go their way.”
Jesus demonstrated the kind of love of which this world is unacquainted. He proved that heaven would stop at nothing to save as many as are willing to respond to His grace. At Calvary, He suffered the eternal death that all who would be destroyed at the end of all things will suffer if they reject the gift. He made a clear path through the Red Sea of separation between a holy God and sinful humankind. Once He accomplished His mission on the cross, the waters, so-to-speak, rushed in and drowned the devil and His angels. Their hold on humanity was broken. They were reserved in the chains of the consequences of their rebellion until the end of time, and the Lord demonstrated His victory early one Sunday morning. Jesus came forth from the tomb conquering and to conquer. Through this victory He asked the question in resounding tones, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).
Since the Lord has given us the opportunity to live eternally and be free from sin, what will you do? Will you take the liberty of the salvific gift and lead others to Christ, or treat the Lord spitefully and lose out eternally? We all have a choice. Today, I choose to follow Jesus by His grace.—L. David Harris (www.DavidWritesaLot.com)