The Cost Jesus Paid

THE COST

TODAY’S READING: JOHN 19:25–30

Michelangelo’s works explored many facets of the life of Jesus, yet one of the most poignant was also one of the simplest. In the 1540s he sketched a pieta (a picture of Jesus’ mother holding the body of the dead Christ) for his friend Vittoria Colonna. Done in chalk, the drawing depicts Mary looking to the heavens as she cradles her Son’s still form. Rising behind Mary, the upright beam of the cross carries these words from Dante’s Paradise, “There they don’t think of how much blood it costs.” Michelangelo’s point was profound: when we contemplate the death of Jesus, we must consider the price He paid.

The price paid by Christ is captured in His dying declaration, “It is finished” (JOHN 19:30). The term for “it is finished” (tetelestai) was used in several ways—to show a debt had been paid, a task finished, a sacrifice offered, a masterpiece completed. Each of them applies to what Jesus did on our behalf on the cross! Perhaps that’s why the apostle Paul wrote, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (GALATIANS 6:14).

Jesus’ willingness to take our place is the eternal evidence of how much God loves us. As we contemplate the price He paid, may we also celebrate His love—and give thanks for the cross. o

JESUS SAID, “IT IS FINISHED.”

JOHN 19:30

BILL CROWDER

How could each meaning of tetelestai be applied to the cross of Jesus and what He accomplished there? Which one has most meaning to you?

Father, when I consider the sacrifice Jesus made on my behalf, I am humbled and deeply grateful. Thank You for Jesus, and thank You for the cross.

NEVER FORSAKEN

TODAY’S READING: PSALM 22:1–10

Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” With that in mind, I read an online article describing “The Top 8 Deadliest Prisons in the World.” In one of these prisons every prisoner is held in solitary confinement.

We are intended to live and relate in relationships and community, not in isolation. This is what makes solitary confinement such a harsh punishment.

Isolation is the agony Christ suffered when His eternal relationship with the Father was broken on the cross. We hear this in His cry captured in Matthew 27:46: “About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’).” As He suffered and died under the burden of our sins, Christ was suddenly alone, forsaken, isolated, cut off from His relationship with the Father. Yet His suffering in isolation secured for us the promise of the Father: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”

JESUS CRIED OUT IN A LOUD VOICE, . . . “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

MATTHEW 27:46

(HEBREWS 13:5)

Christ endured the agony and abandonment of the cross for us so that we would never be alone or abandoned by our God. Ever. o BILL CROWDER

When you feel lonely, what difference does it make to know God will never leave or abandon you? Who else can you encourage with this truth?

Father, thank You for making it possible for me to be Your child. I am eternally grateful for the price Jesus paid to make that relationship possible. Thank You for the promise that You will never abandon me.

WOUNDED FOR ME

TODAY’S READING: ISAIAH 53:4–12

When you study the painting of the crucifixion by the famous Dutch artist Rembrandt, your attention is first drawn to the cross and to Jesus. Then, as you look at the crowd around the cross, you are drawn to the faces of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. Finally, your eyes drift to the edge of the picture and catch sight of another figure—almost hidden in the shadows. This, we are told, was a self-portrait of Rembrandt, for he recognised that by his sins he helped nail Jesus there!

Someone has aptly said, “It is a simple thing to say that Christ died for the sin of the world. It is quite another thing to say that Christ died for my sin! It may be an interesting pastime to point fingers at those who crucified Jesus, but it is a shocking thought that I can be as indifferent as Pilate, as scheming as Caiaphas, as cruel as the soldiers, as ruthless as the mob or as cowardly as the disciples. It isn’t just what they did—it was I who nailed Him to the tree. I crucified the Christ of God. I joined the mockery!”

Think again of Rembrandt’s painting. If you look closely, you will see that in the shadows you too are standing with bloodied hands, for Christ bore the penalty of your sin! And you will say, “By his wounds we are healed” (ISAIAH 53:5).

SURELY HE TOOK UP OUR PAIN AND BORE OUR SUFFERING.

ISAIAH 53:4

o

HENRY G. BOSCH

How do you respond to the realisation that Jesus personally took up your pain, sin and suffering upon the cross? How can you give Him the honour He deserves today?

Lord Jesus, what a wonderful Saviour You are. I don’t have the words to express my awe and worship that You would lay down Your life for me. I simply give You all that I am.