“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
About 15 years ago a movie came out, produced by Mel Gibson, called The Passion of the Christ. It was touted as being extremely brutal (which it was), focusing on the extreme (which it did), and appalling (which, it was as well). If you have ever read the Gospels and what the crucifixion really looked like, you will see that it was brutal, extreme and appalling.
The unsaved were appalled by this movie and some Christians were appalled by this movie. It was very controversial, and please understand that I am not suggesting you run out and buy the DVD or see the movie. What I will tell you is that I did see the movie and I took a group of teens to the theater to see it. We stood in the lobby before going in and we prayed openly that lives would be changed by it. God answered that prayer, because some of those lives were the very young people who stood in the lobby praying that prayer. Some of those teens who knew Jesus as their Lord and Savior and who were trying to follow after Him as best they could, seeing a depiction of the extremes to which their Lord and Savior would go to rescue them, renewed their faith and it gave them a deeper love for Him.
This side of heaven, we will never know the number of people that this movie touched. But when we get there, I believe there will be a great number of people who prayed, during and after having seen this movie, to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
The Passion of The Christ was not however, true to the Scripture. There were inaccuracies and some sensationalizing. The Scriptures, however, are the Holy, Inerrant, Word of God and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is brutal, it is extreme and it is appalling.
If we look at the crucifixion, from just the book of Luke, we will find that our Savior was betrayed (with a kiss) – Luke 22:47 & 48, rejected (by his own disciples, not just the crowds) – Luke 22:54-62, He was mocked – Luke 22:63-65 & 23:11, He was beaten – Luke 22:63, He was falsely accused Luke 23:2, 23:5, He suffered – Luke 24:46, and He was crucified – Luke 23:33.
There are many verses that speak to the crucifixion and even more and greater sufferings of our Savior. From the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, their is imagery and/or reference to the crucifixion.
There is no way to look at these verses, or those speaking of the crucifixion in any of the Gospels for that matter, and not see the incredible sufferings of our Savior. The greatest of which we haven’t even discussed, which was the weight of the sin of every man, woman and child that was placed on Him and “He became sin, who knew no sin” (1 Peter 2:21-25, Romans 3:21-31, 2 Corinthians 5:21). He became the very thing that causes separation between us and God.
And He did it All For Us.
The Scriptures tell us that “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” – Romans 3:10, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” – Romans 6:23; “But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” – Romans 10:9-10.
It also says “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him, shall not perish but have ever lasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:16-18
Jesus said to him, “I am the way the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6. There is no way to the Father, heaven, eternal life and/or forgiveness, except through repentance, belief and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord. There was no other way for the Father to reconcile us to Himself, than with a perfect sacrifice to take our place and He did this All For Us.
We have all sinned and are therefore condemned to death (Romans 3:23 & 6:23), but through Jesus suffering and death on the cross (Romans 5:8) and our belief in Him and confession of repentance (Romans 10:9-10) we can be forgiven and reconciled to the Father.
Jesus didn’t look forward to the crucifixion. In the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed to God saying “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” He didn’t desire becoming sin. But He submitted to the Father’s will and plan to redeem us. In John 16 He prays such an incredible prayer over the disciples and over us! His love for us was beyond our comprehension and His sacrifice was equaled to His love.
If you know our precious Savior as Lord of your life, I pray that your heart breaks when you think of the incredible love and sacrifice of our Savior, I know that mine does. I pray that the realization of the lengths to which our Heavenly Father would go to be reconciled to you would draw you to your knees in repentance and adoration. I pray that we would all whisper “Abba Father, we adore, praise and thank you.” and attempt to glorify and share Him more today than ever.
If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page and, from the bottom of your heart, pray the prayer that is outlined there and when you do (because I am trusting God to draw you to Himself) I pray that you would reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com, so that I can pray for you and perhaps help you to grow in your knowledge of and relationship with Him.
Luv ya!
