Reckon with the Cross

In our fast, information glutted world,  there is a tendency of moving quickly to the next thing... even the next inspiration. Today I want to stop and hit ‘repeat’ on a message shared by our lead pastor Kevin Rogers this past Sunday, entitled “Reckon With the Cross.” It’s highly worth the time to contemplate. Here is a link to the message.

And following are some of the notes I took. [FYI: I may not have always quoted Kevin precisely.]

“God is dead, God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world yet known has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us?” - Frederick Neitche.

Neitche was commenting on the fading of religion after the Enlightenment, but he may have been saying more than we was aware.

• God is not dead, but he has experienced death.
• God did not remain dead, but the death he experienced remains the most impactful event in all of human history, by any measure.
• We did not actually kill him, but his death is something, in some sense, we are all responsible for.
• We don’t need his blood wiped off of us. We need his blood to cover us.
• What he was absolutely right about - every single person must reckon with the crucifixion of the son of God.

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In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:4-5

All of us at some point were sitting under judgment. Some of you may be sitting in that darkness still, and feel the weight of it. What we see here is that Jesus made a way for you through the darkness, a way to find peace.

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Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” - John 2:19

Jesus was saying he would take the place of the temple. He would be the place where people find the presence of God with men. One of the things that Jesus is accomplishing at this moment is for sinful people to be accessing the presence of God - not through buildings or music or rituals or feelings - but through faith in Christ.

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But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ - Luke 18:13

The bloodthirsty crowds go away seeing that they need the blood of Jesus in a way they had not seen before. As in the parable, they will go back home justified, if they believe in the cross. That’s how those who witnessed the crucifixion responded: contrition, confession and praise.

How will we?

Some have not yet reckoned with the cross at all. It seems a fairy tale. It’s something you’ve heard, but have not faced. At some point you will have to reckon with it. You will do it today by going home and forgetting it, or by receiving forgiveness by his blood.

Father, help me make the time and place to reflect on this holiest of moments in all of history. Help me see more clearly and be impacted more profoundly with a truth that I’ve heard often, but will never fully absorb.