LET THAT SINK IN
Famous Last Words - Part 3 [Devo]
—
This past Sunday, we celebrated Communion, as we do the first Sunday of every month. I don’t know about you, but for me, sometimes communion can become rote. I was talking with my wife, Delaney, about it afterward, and she expressed the same thing. It got us thinking about how much we miss out on when we narrow our focus to how stale the piece of bread is, or how much thirstier we are after having that tiny sip of juice. But here’s the deal:
When we participate in Communion, we need to let the weight of what we are celebrating — the weight of what Jesus experienced on the cross for us — sink in.
Pastor Tim continued our series “Famous Last Words” by teasing out the gravity of the cross. He looked at the phrase, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mark 15:34). Pastor Tim shared a great deal about the significance of this statement and the window it provides into the severity of the situation for Jesus.
Not only was Jesus, the Creator of all, physically tortured and verbally mocked, all while undergoing the most horrific form of execution ever created; He was also forsaken and abandoned by His Heavenly Father. Up until this moment, Jesus and the Father had existed in perfect harmony. Then, as Jesus took on all of our sin, He experienced the judicial rejection from God, who cannot look on sin.
I love the way Peter put it, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). This was Christ’s greatest suffering, and He endured it so that we might never have to.
So, if you are like me and can sometimes lose sight of the reality of what Jesus underwent for us, take some time this week to meditate on that. Maybe even take time each day to read through one of the accounts of the cross (Matthew 26-28 / Mark 14-16 / Luke 22-24 / John 18-20). When you sit with the Passion of Christ in this way and recognize the length that Jesus went to, you will begin to see just how much He loves you.
—
This past Sunday, we celebrated Communion, as we do the first Sunday of every month. I don’t know about you, but for me, sometimes communion can become rote. I was talking with my wife, Delaney, about it afterward, and she expressed the same thing. It got us thinking about how much we miss out on when we narrow our focus to how stale the piece of bread is, or how much thirstier we are after having that tiny sip of juice. But here’s the deal:
When we participate in Communion, we need to let the weight of what we are celebrating — the weight of what Jesus experienced on the cross for us — sink in.
Pastor Tim continued our series “Famous Last Words” by teasing out the gravity of the cross. He looked at the phrase, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mark 15:34). Pastor Tim shared a great deal about the significance of this statement and the window it provides into the severity of the situation for Jesus.
Not only was Jesus, the Creator of all, physically tortured and verbally mocked, all while undergoing the most horrific form of execution ever created; He was also forsaken and abandoned by His Heavenly Father. Up until this moment, Jesus and the Father had existed in perfect harmony. Then, as Jesus took on all of our sin, He experienced the judicial rejection from God, who cannot look on sin.
I love the way Peter put it, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). This was Christ’s greatest suffering, and He endured it so that we might never have to.
So, if you are like me and can sometimes lose sight of the reality of what Jesus underwent for us, take some time this week to meditate on that. Maybe even take time each day to read through one of the accounts of the cross (Matthew 26-28 / Mark 14-16 / Luke 22-24 / John 18-20). When you sit with the Passion of Christ in this way and recognize the length that Jesus went to, you will begin to see just how much He loves you.
Author: Andrew Archer, Student Ministry Director
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