Lest We Forget Jesus’ Journey

Here are some questions to ponder this Easter Holy Week. Did the Son of God give up his Father to become human? Did Jesus step out of the circle of relationship with the Father and Holy Spirit when He was born in the stable? The answers to these questions are all “of course not.” In Jesus, the relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is lived out in a divine-human existence. Don’t fly past the importance of the Incarnation of Jesus as a human being in solving the problem of our estrangement from God. Thus the cross of Jesus is not the solution to sin, it is the answer to the God forged relationship with humanity. The cross can overshadow the birth, life, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.
Think of the situation when people are trapped in a burning building. The firemen may spray water on the blaze, but it is likely that they will have to attempt a rescue by actually entering into the burning building. Turn the scenario around, if the firemen never come out of the building then they too are lost. Today the firemen stay in contact with other firemen outside of the blaze and keep them apprised of the situation.
Theologian T. F. Torrance make this statement, “perhaps the most fundamental truth which we have to learn in the Christian Church, or rather relearn since we have suppressed it, is that the Incarnation (the life of Jesus) was the coming of God to save us in the heart of our fallen and depraved humanity… the Incarnation is the coming of God to take upon himself our fallen nature, our actual human existence laden with sin and guilt, and our diseased mind and soul in its alienation from the Creator.”
The same is true with Jesus. Jesus entered into our world in a rescue effort that would not be stopped. Jesus never lost contact with his Father and the Holy Spirit. The rescue attempt was painful and it looked as if Satan was going to be able to have the last word… but… then again, death was not the last word was it? In Adam and Eve, humanity was fallen, lost, and bound for death. In Jesus, He is the new Adam, the true human and the bonds of sin and death have no hold upon Him. He is the living atonement for all of humanity and we witness a God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) willing to die to bring us into a right relationship with Him. Was it because we deserved it? No, it was only by God’s choosing… His grace that enables us to join Him in the resurrection. John 11:26 says, “whoever lives and believes in me will never die!” I pray that you have a meaningful Holy Week and that you know that God loves you enough to give His life for you.