17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
In our verses for today Jesus clearly states His death and resurrection was voluntary and sacrificial as well as obedient to His Father’s will. It was planned. It had purpose. It was pleasing to the Father. No one took our Lord’s life from Him; He lay it down on His own accord. The prophet Isaiah had prophesized regarding this:
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:10-11 (NIV)
John gives us the following Truth in Revelation:
8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. Rev 13:8 (NIV)
God is not whimsical in His dealings. He does not say and then not act. He is faithful to His promises and loving toward all He has made. Clearly the decision of Christ’s death and resurrection had been made from the creation of the world and was only awaiting the “fullness of time”. Indeed, “slain from the creation of the world” – before the stars were in place, before the grass and trees and flowers grew, before the animals and even Adam, it was set in stone – Jesus would be the sacrificial Lamb to take away the sin of the world. God is our source of stability as He is ever faithful to His message. He can be trusted. Every promise of God, therefore, is “yes” in Christ Jesus:
20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Cor 1:20-22 (NIV)
Interestingly, our verses for today could be applied to our lives in regard to our Christian walk as well. We are called to die to self and live for Christ – to lay down our lives only to take them up again through His power. Paul puts it this way in Galatians:
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal 2:20 (NIV)
“God will be our compensation for every sacrifice we have made.” F. B. Meyer
We are also told in Romans:
10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Romans 8:10-11 (NIV)
No one forces us to lay down our lives of selfish ambitions, vain conceits and sinfulness and take them up again to live for righteousness through His power – all for Christ’s sake and glory. When we end the enthronement of self – our self-righteous, self-centered living – we then yield the throne of our life to Another – to Christ. Willingly choosing to take off the old man and put on the new, becoming a new creation in Him. Paul’s life shines as a perfect example of this fleshed out. He goes from persecutor of Christ to proclaimer of His Majesty- a miraculous transformation indeed. All of his laurels – and he had many - he willingly lay aside, considering them loss for the sake of Christ. He lived this new life by faith which released in him the divine power to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Considering all that Christ had done for him (and for us all), he urges believers to this same course of action of willingly choosing to be living sacrifices. We find his following words in Romans 12:
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
“It pleases the Father that all fullness should be in Christ; therefore, there is nothing but emptiness anywhere else.” William Gadsby
Faith, which releases the divine power, believes God. Faith believes God has our best interest at heart. Faith believes God knows best. Faith believes God loves us and that we can rest secure in that love. Faith believes God’s will for us is good and perfect and pleasing. Faith reaches out and grabs hold of the Life God offers that is truly Life.
“Faith is a living and unshakeable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.” Martin Luther