DEVOTIONAL

“Born To Die”

Around Christmas time last year, I began to think about what we were celebrating

and what God’s word has to say about it.

Interestingly enough there is little about Christ Jesus’ birth in the Scriptures.

Matthew gives a brief summary in chapter one, verses 18 thru 25. Luke gives the

most detailed description and yet neither even mentions the date He was born.

Christians make quite an event of the birth of Christ yet that is not what Jesus

said we should remember—Here is what, how and why—23 For I received from

the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was

betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said,

“This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same

way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my

blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you

eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26(NIV) The apostle Paul is saying that Jesus gave him this

to give to us—remember My death by communing with each other and Me when

you eat or drink.

Why was it important to Jesus for us to remember His death—why not His

birth? Our Lord knew it was by His death—only His death—that He would provide

payment for our sins. There is no other way sinful man can be made right with

God except through the death of Jesus Christ. Our Lord wants us to remember His

death because it shows us how much He loves us and that He held back nothing,

not even His own life, to redeem us. Beware of the pleasant view of the Fatherhood of

God—God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That sentiment has no

place whatever in the New Testament. The only ground on which God can forgive us is

the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ; to put forgiveness on any other ground is

unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive sin and reinstate us

in His favour is through the Cross of Christ, and in no other way. Forgiveness, which is so

easy for us to accept, cost the agony of Calvary. It is possible to take the forgiveness of sin,

the gift of the Holy Ghost, and our sanctification with the simplicity of faith, and to forget

at what enormous cost to God it was all made ours.

Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace; it cost God the Cross of Jesus Christ before He

could forgive sin and remain a holy God. Never accept a view of the Fatherhood of God

if it blots out the Atonement. The revelation of God is that He cannot forgive; He would

contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back

to God by the Atonement. God’s forgiveness is only natural in the super-natural domain.

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest It is essential that we

remember how horrible Jesus’ death was so we will understand how much we mean

to Him and how much He loves us.

Something to think about—27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say?

‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this

hour. John 12:27 (NIV) Jesus knew that He was born to die—it is important

that you and I never forget this.

Make It Personal: The next time you sit down to eat remember that God’s own

Son—the Bread of Life—gave His life so that you might spend eternity with Him.

The next time you have a drink of water remember Jesus Christ—the Living

Water—allowed His blood to be spilled so you could live.

We can never fathom the agony in Gethsemane, but at least we need not misunderstand

it. It is the agony of God and Man in one, face to face with sin. We know nothing about

Gethsemane in personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary stand for something unique;

they are the gateway into Life for us.

It was not the death on the cross that Jesus feared in Gethsemane; He stated most

emphatically that He came on purpose to die. In Gethsemane He feared lest He

might not get through as Son of Man. He would get through as Son of God—Satan

could not touch Him there; but Satan’s onslaught was that He would get through as an

isolated Figure only; and that would mean that He could be no Saviour. Read the record

of the agony in the light of the temptation: “Then the devil leaveth Him for a season.” In

Gethsemane Satan came back and was again overthrown. Satan’s final onslaught against

Our Lord as son of Man is in Gethsemane.

The agony in Gethsemane is the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the

Saviour of the world. The veil is drawn aside to reveal all it cost Him to make it possible

for us to become sons of God. His agony is the basis of the simplicity of our salvation. The

Cross of Christ is a triumph for the son of Man. It was not only a sign that Our Lord had

triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Every human being can

get through into the presence of God now because of what the Son of Man went through.

Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest

Never allow yourself to forget the great suffering our Lord went through to bring

you back to Himself.