God's Word For Every Day

Read of the Psalmist’s sufferings. Think of the Saviour, suffering for you (Psalm 22:7-8, 18; Matthew 27:39 ,43, 35). We highlight two statements: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’, ‘They have pierced my hands and my feet’ (Psalm 22:1, 16). Jesus Christ was ‘crucified and killed by the hands of the lawless men’ (Acts 2:23). There is, however, more to His story than this: ‘The Lord has laid all our sins on Him’ (Isaiah 53:6). When we read of Jesus Christ, ‘pierced for our transgressions’, we see Him ‘pierced’ by men and forsaken by God (Isaiah 53:5; Zechariah 12:10; John 19:34; Matthew 27:46). Looking on to Jesus Christ, risen, exalted and returning, we see Him still bearing the marks of His suffering - ‘the mark of the nails’, ‘a Lamb standing as though it had been slain’, ‘pierced’ (John 20:25; Revelation 5:6; 1:7). Jesus Christ has ‘tasted death for everyone’ (Hebrews 2:9). Now, through Him, salvation is proclaimed to ‘the congregation’, to ‘the ends o...

We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19). We are to live as those who are awaiting the Day of the Lord’s return (Hebrews 10:25). We look back to what Christ has done for us. We look forward to what He will do for us. Looking back and looking forward: These are both found in Hebrews 9:28 - ‘Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him’. We remember our Saviour. We remember what He has done for us: ‘the Son of God loved us and gave Himself for us’(Galatians 2:20). We eat bread and drink wine, giving thanks that our Saviour went to the Cross for us - His body broken for us and His blood shed for us. We are not only looking back. We are also looking forward: ‘As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes’ (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Remember - and pray, ‘Come, Lord ...

In the death of Jesus Christ, we see both the holiness and the love of God. God hates sin. God loves sinners. Both are true - not one without the other but both together. Why did Christ die? - so that sin might be punished, so that sinners might be saved. God hates sin. The Bible tells us that God is so perfectly holy that he cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13). Christ died so that sin might be punished. God loves sinners. The Bible makes this perfectly clear - " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Why did Christ die? - " For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:17).  When we look at the cross of Christ, we are to see both  - the love of God for the sinner and the holy (or righteous) anger of God, directed against sin. That is what we are to see when we look at the cross of Christ - the...

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).   * What do we mean when we say, "Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"? "Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7). To understand this description of Christ - "our Passover Lamb", we need to go back to Exodus 12.    -  A lamb was to be taken for each household (Exodus 12:3).   - The lamb was to be "without blemish" (Exodus 12:5).   - The lamb was to be killed (Exodus 12:6).   - The blood was to be put on the doorposts of the house (Exodus 12:7).   - "When I see the blood, I will pass over you" (Exodus 12:13). Jesus Christ is "the lamb without blemish" (1 Peter 1:19). He is " the Lamb, who was slain" (Revelation 5:12). He is " the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).  * What was happening when Jesus Christ died? How are we to un...

Christ died "not for our sins only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). This is something which we, in the church, must never forget. When we are tempted to shut out 'the big, bad world', we must remember - Christ died "not for our sins only but also for the sins of the whole world." In this world, we face many temptations.Not all of these temptations come from the world out there, the world outside of these four walls. There are some temptations that come to us precisely because we have stepped into the place of worship, precisely because we have chosen to worship God. Jesus was very aware of the dangers that face religious people, especially those who are very religious. The more religious we are, the more we are tempted to take pride in ourselves, in our own religion. Jesus was a storyteller. He told stories. They were stories with a difference, stories with a message, stories full of spiritual truth. One of his stories was the p...

Looking back to Christ’s crucifixion, looking forward to His return We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19). We are to live as those who are awaiting the Day of the Lord’s return (Hebrews 10:25). We look back to what Christ has done for us. We look forward to what He will do for us. Looking back and looking forward: These are both found in Hebrews 9:28 - ‘Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him’. We remember our Saviour. We remember what He has done for us: ‘the Son of God loved us and gave Himself for us’(Galatians 2:20). We eat bread and drink wine, giving thanks that our Saviour went to the Cross for us - His body broken for us and His blood shed for us. We are not only looking back. We are also looking forward: ‘As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until H...

‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). These are not words of despair. They are words of triumph. At an early stage in His public ministry, Jesus said, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me to finish His work’ (John 4:34). Even then, He was looking ahead to the Cross, to the completion of the work of redemption. In one sense, ‘it is finished’- on the Cross. In another sense, there is more to be done - by the Father. The Cross is followed by the resurrection - ‘God raised Him from the dead’(Acts 2:24; Romans 10:9). To come to the words, ‘It is finished’ is not to reach the end of the story. Jesus was laid in the tomb (John 19:42). This was not the end of His story. He was raised on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4)!

"Come, let us kill him" (Matthew 21:38). This is the human story of Christ's crucifixion. He was "put to death by wicked men." There is also the divine story - "the deliberate plan and foreknowledge of God"(Acts 2:23). The wicked men thought that this was the end of Jesus. They were wrong! - "God raised Him from the dead." Could it have been any other way? Could the evil scheming of men have prevailed over God's plan of salvation? - No! "I t was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him" (Acts 2:24).

We rejoice in Christ's resurrection, but we do not rush on to His resurrection without turning our thoughts to His crucifixion. His resurrection has no meaning without His crucifixion. Before there could be His resurrection, there needed to be His crucifixion. Before He could be raised from death to life, He needed to die. He died for us - then, He was raised for us. In His suffering for our sins, He prayed, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" As we learn to appreciate the wonder of what He has done for us in His death, our joy will increase, when we hear the words, "He has risen."

Jesus is ‘drinking from the cup which the Father has given Him’- He drinks from the cup of our condemnation that we might drink from the cup of His salvation (John 18:11; Matthew 26:38-39; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Jesus’ death was not only ‘expedient’. It was ‘necessary’- for our salvation (John 18:14; Luke 24:26). Alongside the story of Jesus there is the story of Peter (John 18:15-18, 25-27). Jesus’ death was not the end of His story - He rose from the dead (Luke 24:5-6; Acts 2:23-24). Peter denied the Lord three times. This was not the end of his story. For each denial, there was a new commitment (John 21:15-17). For each denial, there were, on the Day of Pentecost, 1,000 people brought to Christ (Acts 2:38, 41).

Were we there when they crucified our Lord? – Yes. He died for our sins. In this remarkable prophecy, we see Jesus Christ, crucified for us – ‘the Lord has laid all our sins on Him’ – and risen from the dead – ‘After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life’ (Isaiah 53:6, 11). ‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord?’ ( Mission Praise , 745). We might put this question to Isaiah. In one sense, he wasn’t there. He lived long before the time of Christ. In another sense, he was there. God opened his eyes. God gave him a glimpse of what was going to happen in the future. ‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord?’ In one sense, we weren’t there. These things happened long before we were even born. In another sense, we were there. It was our sins which Christ took with Him to the Cross. It was our sins which He left behind Him when He rose from the dead (Romans 4:25 ). Jesus Christ – forsaken by God and pierced for our transgressions Read of th...