“And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.” (Luke 23:36-37 KJV).
These passages provide several spiritual lessons for us to reflect on the humiliation and mocking our Lord faced on the cross. The soldiers, alongside the religious rulers, taunted Him to “save your-self”. The profound irony of this mocking is, if our Lord Jesus had saved Himself by opting out of the cross, He could not have saved us and the world at large including those who mocked Him. But, He remained on the cross out of resolute, self-sacrificial love.
He chose to take the full weight of our judgment, curse, derision and punishment upon Himself. If He had proven His kingship by rescuing Himself, humanity would have remained lost and unredeemed. At the cross, our Lord Jesus was the ultimate Servant King. He had the authority and power to command angels to rescue Him, or to step down from the cross to save Himself. But, He stayed to take it all, driven by His overwhelming love.
Our Lord Jesus on the cross, points to the prophetic foreshadow of the Old Testament law of the Hebrew servant (Exodus 21:1-6). Under that law, if a servant’s time of service was up, he was free to leave. But if the servant chose to stay saying, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,” his ear was pierced, and he stayed a servant forever. At the cross, our Lord Jesus chose to be the ultimate Servant King forever. He stayed and let His hands, feet, and heart be pierced because He loved His Father and He loved us - His bride, members of His body.
The sour wine points back to the prophetic fulfillment of Psalm 69:21: "for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink". The Lord drank the "bitter cup" of God's wrath and judgment against sin so that we would only ever have to drink from the "cup of blessing" and the rivers of living water (John 7:37-38). He took the sour, bitter consequences of our failures in His own body.
Because our Lord Jesus refused to save Himself from the soldiers, the religious priests, the political powers and the cross, He completely stripped the devil of his legal right to enforce a death sentence over those who believe. Hence, now as we believe, our Lord Jesus declares: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24 ESV).
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC.
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC.
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
1 comment:
Amen.
John 3:16
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