Midweek Meditation: "On the Cross" (Billy Graham)

Billy Graham passed away on Feb 21st, 2018. As this is Holy Week, it is most appropriate to reflect on some of his words about the Cross of Christ.

• "The cross has become a symbol in much of the Western world, misused by many rock stars and others who do not comprehend its significance."
• "The cross shows the seriousness of our sin - but it also shows the immeasurable love of God."
• "The law enables us to see ourselves as morally dirty and in need of cleansing. But it also points us to the place of cleansing: The Cross of Christ."
• "God undertook the most dramatic rescue operation in cosmic history. He determined to save the human race from self-destruction, and He sent His Son Jesus Christ to salvage and redeem them. The work of man's redemption was accomplished at the Cross."
• "To take up your cross means to associate yourself with Christ and to share His rejection. It means you take a stand for Christ even though people make fun of you, persecute you, - or even kill you."

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"What Grace is Mine" (Keith and Kristyn Getty)

This is a powerful rendition of "What Grace is Mine." It is a great reminder of those who have committed ourselves to following Jesus, that our lives are not our own. Sung by Kristyn Getty in the Keith and Kristyn team, it is my favourite.

What grace is mine
That He who dwells in endless light
Called through the night
To find my distant soul
And from His scars
Poured mercy that would plead for me
That I might live, and in His name be known

So I will go wherever He is calling me
I lose my life to find my life in Him
I give my all to gain the hope that never dies
I bow my heart, take up my cross and follow Him

What grace is mine

To know His breath alive in me
Beneath His wings
My waking soul may soar
All fear can flee for death dark night is overcome
My Saviour lives and reigns forever more

So I will go wherever He is calling me

I lose my life to find my life in Him
I give my all to gain a hope that never dies
I bow my heart, take up my cross and follow Him
I bow my heart, take up my cross and follow Him

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Midweek Meditation: On the Cross (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

This is one of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's most well-known words.

"The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death—we give over our lives to death. Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at his call." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 2nd edition, NY: Macmillan, 1963, p99)

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BookPastor >> "King's Cross" (Tim Keller)

This book is an exposition on the Gospel of Mark. It puts the pivotal point at Mark 8, which marks the beginning of the end of Jesus' ministry on earth. Read how Keller skillfully weaves in the themes of kingdom, the teachings, and the growing emphasis on the cross, culminating in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on Dec 4th, 2011.

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TITLE: King's Cross - The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus
AUTHOR: Timothy Keller
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: Dutton Press, 2011, (240 pages).

Tim Keller has a gift for words. He has an ability to weave in a keen understanding of Scripture. Backed by word studies in Greek and Hebrew, he brings the nuances of the original gospel contexts alive to the English speaking world. He has a passionate desire to bring God's people closer to Jesus. Brilliantly, he joins the ancient world with contemporary culture, the Hellenistic texts in the light of modern contexts, and holds together the need for relevance without compromising on biblical truths. This book is another example of this masterful teacher and eloquent preacher.

About the Book

Keller chooses the book of Mark to give readers a deeper insight into how Jesus changed the world by entering into the life of the world. The first part of the book deals with Jesus as King. By focusing on the action-packed gospel of Mark, one sees less of Jesus' 'teaching' and more of Jesus' 'doing.' One recognizes Jesus' identity as King over all things (Mark 1-8). In Part Two, Keller points to the need for Jesus to go to the Cross, highlighting the purpose of Jesus' coming (Mark 9-16). This twin focus of identity and purpose constitutes Keller's interpretation of the gospel of Mark. Together, he exhorts us to 'seriously consider the significance' of the life of Jesus in our own lives. Interestingly, Keller calls the Bible as the book that understands us.


The eighteen chapters roughly follows the gospel of Mark. In the 'Dance,' Jesus comes to earth to give us love, inviting us to relationships of love, of what life is all about. He sets an example for us in obeying the call of God the Father even unto death on the cross. In healing people, he shows us that the deeper need is not meeting our perceived needs, but our truest needs: We need God. My favourite chapter is 'The Rest.' Working through the Sabbath passages in Mark, he says that keeping the Sabbath is more than a pause from work, more than mere observance of the Law, more than a mental or physical time off. It is becoming more aware of Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath. He compares two characters in the story 'Chariots of Fire.'

"Harold Adams was weary even when he rested, and Eric Liddell was rested even when he was exerting himself. Why? Because there's a work underneath our work that we really need to rest from. It's the work of self-justification. It's the work that often leads us to take refuge in religion." (43)

"Because the Lord of the Sabbath said, 'It is Finished,' we can rest from religion - forever." (47)

In 'The Power,' Jesus is Lord over all nature, that those who trust in Him will not need to be afraid. At the midpoint of the book, Keller turns to the inevitable: Jesus must die.

Part Two is the way of the Cross. Keller calls Mark 8 as the pivotal chapter because the King is going to the Cross. The glory of life needs to endure the gory of death.  The transfiguration of Christ is a glimpse of the resurrection of Christ. He makes a case for the uniqueness of Jesus when compared to other religions. While Buddhism maintains their center in the Far East, Islam in the Middle East, Christianity has branched outward moving from Jerusalem to Hellenistic centers, to Alexandria, North Africa, Rome, Europe, and the rest of the world. He credits Andrew Wells for observing that Christianity 'is always migrating away from power and wealth' (125). He writes:

"Jesus says, 'My power is always moving away from people who love power and money. My power is always moving toward people who are giving it away, as I did. Where do you want to live?'" (137)

Read this brilliant description of Jesus, that we either have to take Him as He is, or reject Him. We need to decide.

"He is both the rest and the storm, both the victim and the wielder of the flaming sword, and you must accept him or reject him on the basis of both. Either you'll have to kill him or you'll have to crown him. The one thing you can't do is just say, 'What an interesting guy.' " (162)

Of the Communion, Keller says that the Lord's Supper points us to the future with Jesus, a 'small' but 'very real' future (172).  He ends the book by saying that Christ's death is but the beginning of a glorious kingdom to come.

"On the Day of the Lord - the day that God makes everything right, the day that everything sad comes untrue - on that day the same thing will happen to your own hurts and sadness. You will find that the worst things that have ever happened to you will in the end only enhance your eternal delight. On that day, all of it will be turned inside out and you will know joy beyond the walls of the world. The joy of your glory will be that much greater for every scar you bear. So live in the light of the resurrection and renewal of this world, and of yourself, in a glorious, never-ending, joyful dance of grace." (224-5)

Closing Thoughts

Keller has a rare ability to bring ancient texts alive with insights that tantalizes the modern mind. He brings out the message of Mark in a very readable way. I find my heart pulsing with the re-telling of the story of Jesus, Keller-style. Immensely quotable, this book is a treasure house for preachers looking for a few nuggets to cite. It is a resource for Bible teachers on how to communicate ancient truths for contemporary ears. Bible students will like it. Laypersons will love it. One learns not only the Bible but also the art of communicating the Bible. This is certainly worth the price of the book. Some books do a great job in getting people more interested to dig into the Bible more. They make readers hunger for more of Jesus. They create a thirst that longs for the living waters of Christ. This book is one of them.

Rating: 5 stars of 5.

conrade

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The "Good" in Good Friday

What's so good about Good Friday? Below are two articles. The first is from Dr John Stackhouse Jr, published in the Globe and Mail here. It reflects on the notion of sacrifice, blood symbolism, and evil that highlight the seriousness of sin, and in the process highlight the need for the cross of Christ.


The second is my meditation from my Sabbath Walk blog, published today. It provides three reflections on the cross of Christ. Here is an excerpt from the article. Read the full article here.

Let me offer three thoughts for Good Friday. Firstly, it is a Friday, just before the day of the Jewish Sabbath.   It is a remarkable look back at the creation week, where God rested after all the work have been done in the past six days. Just like the seventh day completes the entire work of creation, Good Friday completes the task of Jesus, as we remember Jesus emphatically saying in John 19:30 that, "It is finished." All the work, and all the ministry, culminates in this one historical event, the Cross of Christ. It is the Cross of Christ that finishes the necessary work of saving the world from sin. At the cross, Jesus paid it all. At the cross, Jesus carried all the burdens of the world. At the cross, Jesus offered forgiveness for the world, for all the wrongs the world had committed in thought, word, or deed. For it is on Good Friday, Jesus rested completely, for his work on earth has been done.

Secondly, the old rugged cross represents the centrality of the gospel of Christ.When we celebrate something, we need to ask ourselves what are we celebrating from? As we think about Resurrection Sunday, we ask ourselves what is Christ rising from? When we think about victory, we need to remind ourselves what we are winning from? Without Good Friday, there is no meaning in Easter Sunday. The late John Stott has written passionately about the three central things accomplished at the cross, namely, to save sinners, to reveal God, and to conquer evil. In one sweep, all three things are accomplished to perfection and to God's complete satisfaction. Stott also notes that the Acts of the Apostles are less about the resurrection of Christ, but more on the centrality of the cross of Christ. From Peter to John, Stephen to Paul, it is the cross that gives the early disciples the power and the reason to live. For if the cross is the existential reason for our work and ministry as Christians, the resurrection builds upon this as our faith and hope for the future.

Thirdly, Good Friday is the culmination of the horizontal and vertical relationships of mankind and creation. The Cross is a visual symbol of a vertical reconciliation with God. It is also a horizontal reconciliation with fellow people. At the cross, Christ embodies the essence of love, and the greatest commandment of God. Stott says that "the cross enforces three truths - about ourselves, about God and about Jesus Christ." These three truths essentially nail down the reality of man, the divinity of God, and the humility of Jesus. The Cross represents so many things that it can be easily misunderstood. That is why I think it is an apt summary of what reconciliation is all about. Only through the cross, we can be saved from our sins. Only through the cross, God is revealed through the greatest act of love. Only through the cross we get to overcome evil. Only through the cross, we understand the significance of the Resurrection.



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