Imagine the searing pain that ripped through the heart of God the instant Adam and Eve ate fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Can you feel His broken heart as He approached His beloved ones, knowing they were hiding from Him? Can you envision the Father God’s agony as He drove His children from the Garden, from His presence, and from the fullness of life and joy? Utter devastation.
That is, until one protagonist singlehandedly transforms this story from a tragedy into the most extraordinary story ever told: Jesus! It begins with a cradle. Jesus’ cradle represents hope, redemption, and broken people made new. (What are you ready for God to make new?) Emmanuel—God with us—was given a name that means Deliverer, Rescuer, Savior, Jesus.
Read these verses about your Jesus:
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
What joy must have burst forth from God’s heart the day He commissioned His Son to earth, setting in motion a rescue plan for His beloved. Hope was on the way. Yet, an obstacle stood between God and man—sin. This sin required a perfect, righteous sacrifice. One none of us is capable of meeting. Therefore, “God so loved the world; He gave His only Son . . .” (John 3:16). Love compelled God to give. Yet if we’re honest, people aren’t very loveable.
Throughout Scripture, from Genesis until today, humanity has been selfish and unloving towards God. But even still, Jesus “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).
God's forgiveness required the death of His Son. So precious Jesus, who did nothing wrong, suffered a criminal’s death (Isaiah 53:12). If not for Jesus' death on the cross, we would be sentenced to eternal separation from God. Sit in that for a moment; let its weightiness settle deep into your soul. Life without God is life without comfort, direction, joy, love, or self-control. It is purposeless. Life without God means no hope of heaven, no connection with the Holy Spirit, and no promise of restored bodies. There would be no church on earth, no Bible to reveal God’s plan, and no truth. And for how long? Forever. That is what we deserve but for Jesus. Aren’t you thankful for those three words?
Allow these truths about the cross to wash over your soul, driving home what your sin cost Jesus. Insert your name where you see blank lines.
“[Jesus] bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds ________ has been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
“[Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes _______ are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers writes, “Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.” This causes me to reflect on how God, outside of time, already knew the effects of sin—past, present, and future—the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed Him. I imagine the generations of suffering, pain, loss, and brokenness He would watch His children go through. And as I remember the sin’s enormous cost to His own Son, the lyrics to “How Great the Father’s Love for Us” flood my soul.
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
From the foundations of a humble cradle,Jesus came to rescue us and break sin’s curse once and for all. Nailed to a wooden cross, Jesus died, so you don’t have to. Praise God: it is finished.
Follow our Contributing Writer - Jamie Adele Wood
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