|
Simply
Said – Clarinda Herald Journal – November 2007 There
is no Christianity without Christ. That
was the theme on which I wrote when last I had the privilege of sharing a few
thoughts in this column. In that article
I urged Christians to avoid generic, impersonal talk about God and to speak
instead of the wonderful specific truths of what God has done for us and
continues to do for us in his Son, Jesus Christ. As promised, I’d like to pick up from where I
left off then and explain why, simply said, there is no Christ without the
cross. In
the 16th chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples,
“Who do you say that I am?” Peter,
speaking for the group, responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living
God.” Jesus commends Peter, telling him
that he didn’t come to this correct conclusion by virtue of his own sharp
observations and keen intellect; but rather by the spiritual illumination given
by the Father in heaven. And now that
the disciples know THAT he is the Christ, Jesus goes on to explain WHAT as the
Christ he must do. Namely, he must go to
Hearing
this alarming news Peter objects, “No, Lord, that will never happen to
you!” It sets him up for one of the
sharpest rebukes Jesus ever gave: “Get
behind me, Satan! You do not have in
mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
That must have hurt, especially since Peter had only what he thought
were good intentions. Why did Jesus come
down so hard on him? The reason is that
Peter wanted to have a Christ without the cross. He was looking for Jesus to be an earthly
ruler, a champion for the Jewish people against the hated Roman oppressors, and
a provider of worldly health, comforts, and riches. That’s what he wanted in a Savior. What he didn’t want and really didn’t think
he needed was God’s Son sent as the atoning sacrifice for his sins. And
Christians often fall into the trap of wanting from Jesus the same thing that
Peter did. It happens whenever we look
to Jesus mostly to make us successful and healthy, and to bless us with
prosperity, happy relationships, and good fortune in this life. Sure, we’d all like to have those things; but
Jesus never promised them to us, and that isn’t why he came to this earth as
our human brother. He came to bear the
cross for our sins so that by trusting him we too can be raised from death to
live forever with him. And because that
was his primary purpose and mission, it also should be our main focus whenever
we think of him, talk about him, pray to him, or worship and thank him. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “I resolved to
know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). We who are
Christians should resolve the same thing:
to seek to know only the Lord Jesus Christ and specifically him
crucified for us, because without the cross he isn’t the Christ we really need. |
