Redemption

Passion Week Perspective

Today is Monday, March 29, 2021. It is the day after Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday began Jesus’ passion week. On this week of all weeks, Christians should be contemplative and prayerful. 


We should contemplate the lesson of the crowds: populism and politics.


On the first day of passion week, hundreds if not thousands of Jews waved palm branches as Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem. Jesus rode on a donkey to symbolize peace. But the crowds longed for a Messiah, a political Savior to rescue them from Roman rule. It is likely that some of the same people who made up the Palm Sunday crowd who celebrated Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem also made up the crowd that jeered for Jesus’ death and the freedom of Barrabas. The crowds teach us to examine our hearts. Do we really want Jesus, the real Jesus? Or do we want a populist, political savior who will give voice to our wishes and whims? 


We should contemplate the lesson of the religious leaders: motives. 


During Jesus’ final week, religious leaders questioned Jesus publicly on a number of occasions. These were not honest questions. First century Jerusalem was a shame/honor culture. And these leaders were attempting to trap/shame Jesus. Yet every question asked, Jesus answered wisely, and ultimately silenced his questioners. The religious leaders teach us to question our motives. Do we really want to honor Jesus in our worship? Or are our outward religious appearances designed to make people think we are better than we really are? 


We should contemplate the lesson of the disciples: fearful unbelief.


During Holy Week, the disciples received some of the greatest teachings of Jesus’ ministry. They watched him curse fig trees (Mark 14), silence religious leaders (Luke 20, especially verse 40), and wash their feet (John 13). They heard Jesus’ discourse on the Holy Spirit, love, the Vine and the branches, unity and his High Priestly prayer (John 13-17). Yet they scattered when Jesus was arrested. They observed as Jesus suffered and died. Having received all the teaching and preparation of Jesus, they still misunderstood his Messianic purpose. The disciples teach us to examine our fears and our faith. Do we want only the Jesus who did miracles and attracted crowds? Or do we want the Jesus who had to suffer and die? Are we afraid of following and trusting the Jesus who suffered and died? 


Passion Week reminds us just how much we can get wrong (the crowds), how much we can miss from insincere motives (the religious leaders), and how our fears can lead to unbelief (the disciples). 


We must be ever grateful that Passion Week culminated in the singular event that redeems us from our sinfulness.

It is precisely because we can discover ourselves in the populism of the crowds, the insincerity of the religious leaders, and the fear of the disciples that we need the Christ who died on the cross.


Take some time to read the passion narratives this week (Matthew 21-28; Mark 11-16; Luke 19-24; John 12-21). Contemplate the characters. Meditate on their motives. 


Then gaze at the crucified Christ. 


Remember that it was for our sins that he suffered and died (1 Peter 3:18). 


Reflect on the power of the cross to give you a new heart, redeem your motives, and build your faith. 


May our reflections this week help us see the real Jesus, the one who convicts, suffers, redeems, and restores. 

Photo by Daniil Silantev on Unsplash

A Triumphal Procession: Walking out of slavery and through the sea.

For a number of years now, I’ve used the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading plan for my devotional Bible reading. This reading plan guides you to read through the Old Testament once a year and the New Testament and Psalms twice a year. One of the greatest benefits I have discovered through this reading plan is seeing the themes of Scripture in different places.

Scripture is repetitive. God reminds us over and over again of his glory and greatness. He reminds us over and over again of our helplessness and need. He reminds us over and over again of his redemptive work. He rescued Israel from slavery in the Old Testament and rescues us from sin in the New Testament. Noticing the interconnectedness of Scripture’s themes is one of the best reasons to read chapters of the Bible from different books regularly.

The other week I was reading Exodus 14 and 2 Corinthians 2. In both places God declares victory and describes his triumph over enemies.

19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 
31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Exodus 14:19-20; 30-31

The context here is after God’s judgment on Egypt and Pharaoh through the ten plagues. Pharaoh finally sent Israel away. Moses led the people out of Egypt and toward the wilderness. In front of them was the Red Sea. Behind them were the Egyptian armies who had second thoughts about losing their slave labor. God led them as a pillar of fire and cloud. God protected them. God delivered them by dividing the Red Sea’s waters so Israel could walk over on dry land. God rescued his people and led them out of slavery in a triumphal procession of victory.

In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul picks up on a similar theme. God leads his people to victory through Christ.

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17

In both places God made his works of redemption public. In the Exodus, God revealed his glory to the Egyptians and displayed his works to the nations of Canaan. Rahab and the inhabitants of Jericho heard of the deeds of God’s rescue of Israel (Joshua 2:9-11). In 2 Corinthians, Paul describes our salvation as a triumphal procession and uses the vivid imagery of a fragrance. To those who are being saved, the fragrance of redemption smells of life. But to those who are perishing, it is the fragrance of death. God rescues us and leads us out of sin in a triumphal procession of victory through Christ.

There are three important truths to be gleaned from the theme of redemption as a triumphal procession.

First, God is the One who triumphs. In the Exodus and for the Corinthians, the work of redemption is God’s work. God initiated judgment on Egypt. God sent Moses to lead the people. God caused miracles so Israel would be freed from slavery. In in the New Testament, God initiated our salvation by sending his Son, Jesus Christ. Christ paid for our sins on the cross. Christ rescued us from slavery to sin. And Christ leads us in triumph.

Second, we are the ones who receive the benefit of redemption. God did not ask Israel to participate in her redemption. It was God’s works, miracles, and interventions that rescued Israel. Israel’s response was to receive rescue. It was after their rescue that God gave them the Law (Exodus 20. See specifically verses 1 and 2 where God declared his redemption prior to giving them the commandments). The New Testament is no different. Christ leads us in a procession of triumph. It is his work that saves. Our response is to follow him in victory. Certainly, the OT Law was intended to distinguish Israel from the other nations, and God’s expectations of righteousness are intended to distinguish us from sinners. But these are not works for our redemption. Rather, these are works from our redemption.

Third, God’s work of redemption in us is intended to be public. In both of these texts, God’s work of rescue was intended to be public and known. God doesn’t rescue us merely for our individual benefit. The glory of his saving work is on display in his people. Egypt and the nations of Canaan knew there was something special about Israel’s God. And people around us should know there is something special about the God who has rescued us. Christ is leading us in triumphal procession to be a fragrant aroma of his saving work to the world around us.

Take a moment today and rejoice in God’s saving work. Thank him for taking the initiative to rescue you from sin. Praise him that you have the privilege of redemption. Pray that God will make his work of redemption known to others. Tell someone today what God has done to save you. Let your rescue be public.

You don’t have to fear sharing this good news of rescue and salvation. You don’t have to be afraid of public witness and praise. You are in a triumphal procession led by Jesus Christ. As his people, we are victorious through Christ’s strength and saving work!

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash