12 March
He was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our sins. Isaiah 53:5.
Here you see the strict and unchangeable seriousness of God over sin and sinners, in that He also did not want to spare His only, most dearly beloved Son, unless he made the heavy propitiatory atonement for sinners. What will the sinner himself encounter if God’s most dear Child is crushed like this? There has to be an indescribable, grave seriousness here that would move such a great, infinite Person to take this on and suffer and die over it. And, if you properly and deeply ponder the fact that God’s Son Himself suffered this, then you will indeed be startled and terrified, the longer you think about it, the more deeply you will be terrified. Sin has to be completely killed off, otherwise it will kill you.
I managed to get in a bit of a nap…only to have my physical pains wake me up to do this one – which I already did a couple of years ago and my local pastors used it as the opening section of our congregations’ noon and evening GOOD FRIDAY services (April 6, 2012). Retyping it with a few minor changes made me realize how ‘drop in the ocean’ any of our pains are compared to what Christ suffered to pay the debt of our sin. So, as I think about Philippians 3:7 ff., let’s sing: “When I survey the wondrous cross …” [L S B #425].
Pouring contempt on all my pride,
Elmer H.
]]>