Easter Blessings | 2018

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." ...

He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."...

So...he went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Matthew 26:36,39,42,44

by Stanley Dalizu

     Palm Sunday has rushed by this week and many of us are reflecting on Jesus Christ's coming agony and excruciating crucifixion in payment for the sins of those who would place their trust in Him. Without these revealing passages, we may whisk away the magnitude of what Christ did, exchanging the thought of Christ's unfair and overwhelming advantage in obeying The Father.  The Creator, the King, the One who sustains and knows all things must have known how this would have all played out. He knows and understands beginning from end. He owns everything. He is all powerful. Yet, he chose to come down as a man and give himself a free ransom from the grip of evil and eternal death, in exchange for freedom and eternal life to all who would place total faith and trust in Him alone. It was nothing to him, right? I know of no better analogy than Alabama Crimson Tide Football. In terms of deciding an outcome of any given match-up against the Roll Tide, even the opponent knows the outcome. Or the courage of our fierce  Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen confronting the wickedness of Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy on that grisly D-Day - the largest seaborne operation in all military history.
    Quite often I fail to capture Christ's humanity. His deity and humanity are one of the greatest mysteries, but it sure makes a ton more sense in the adoption process. If Christ's prayer that night were any indicator, what He was preparing to do was an overwhelmingly big deal. And it's still the biggest deal in all of history. What he disclosed to his disciples revealed his vulnerability to how perplexing and anguishing his sufferings would be to him. He pleaded with the Father three times. This was clearly not from despair or distrust of His Father. As preached at our church last Sunday (not by me), "His humanity and divinity collided, and his divinity lead him to subject himself to the Father's will." The Gospels are emphatic that Christ agonized internally to the point of sweating blood (Luke 22:44). Certainly, the astonishing fact is that Jesus knew exactly what the outcome would be and He still accommodated himself to bear the iniquities which the Father had laid upon him. He never abandoned his humanness - or his Father's will.

    Beloved, all said, it is extremely uplifting to have your total support and encouragement in our comparatively small mission and trials. By His hour of suffering Jesus Christ had only betrayal and was denied the supports and comforts we get to enjoy on his behalf (Matthew 26:45-46; Luke 22:21;60-63). It is true that the many dear saints who have suffered much worse than any of us with the most terrible deaths and torments, still were without the same sorrows and consternations of Jesus Christ - some "called their prisons delectable orchards, and a bed of flames a bed of roses." The victory is in Jesus because He defeated death - He rose again! A short while ago we were able to sit in to hear the encouragement and exhortation of fellow and seasoned pastors to a new pastor being ordained. One of the great warnings taken from Joshua 1:6-11 was this: "True courage is the willingness to obey God's voice despite the cost and opposition, circumstances and emotions. God will ask you to take risks, but take courage and seize His assignments for you." Christ really did model for us how to live for Him, The Father, and the Holy Spirit, and truly there is no better way to live life. He hasn’t asked us to do anything He didn’t already do. May the power and grace of Jesus Christ richly dwell in your spirit, beloved.