BBD 03.10.04 His Passion
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
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03.10.04
His Passion
He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we
did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was
wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the
chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own
way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. - Isaiah 53:3-6.
Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he
delivered Him to be crucified. - Matthew 27:26.
By now, there are few people who have not heard something about Mel Gibson’s
film, “The Passion of Christ.” Hollywood ought to get a clue about the huge
market for Christian oriented films but I doubt that they do because their
hearts are so hard. Ticket sales for this film appear to be on track to set
new records.
It has occurred to me that many may wonder what the term “Passion of Christ”
means. Passion as in the Passion of Christ refers to the sufferings of Jesus
in the period following the Last Supper and including the Crucifixion, as
related in the New Testament. Our modern word “passion” originates from
Medieval Latin passi, passin-, sufferings of Jesus or a martyr, from Late
Latin, physical suffering, martyrdom, from Latin, an undergoing, from
passus, past participle of pat, to suffer.
In the Passion of Christ, we see the fulfillment of the Old Testament
prophecies. In Mel Gibson’s film many have commented on the how horrible is
the scourging of Christ which seems to go on and on and on. A Roman
scourging was a terrible thing and many did not survive it much less a
crucifixion. Isaiah says, “by His stripes we are healed.” Our healing has
come at an incomprehensible price of the pain and suffering of our Lord. Of
what are we healed? We are healed of the disease of sin, which is an
eternally terminal ailment. The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the
Romans that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and that
“the wages of sin is death (Romans 3:23; 6:23a).” Isaiah says that, “we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way (Isaiah
53).” How are we healed? “…the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all
(Isaiah 53).”
Why was it necessary for Christ to suffer? The writer of the book of Hebrews
explains, “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come…Not
with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the
Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the
blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean,
sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,
cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? …according
to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding
of blood there is no remission. …For Christ has not entered the holy places
made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now
to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself
often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood
of another-- He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of
the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once,
but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of
many (Hebrews 9:11-28).”
God has provided a Savior for you at incomprehensible cost. Have you
received Christ Jesus as your personal Savior inviting Him to come into your
heart and life asking Him to forgive you of your sins and be your Lord and
Master? John 3:16 tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.” Jesus is the one and only way provided for reconciliation
with our Heavenly Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). I plead with you; please
don’t neglect so great a salvation that has been provided for you at such
great cost. Today is the day of salvation. If you haven’t done so receive
Christ as your Savior today before it is eternally too late.
Copyright © 2004. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. On June 8, 1998 the email
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