Since we believe the cross…

Though the cross is foolishness to unbelieving men (1 Cor. 1:18ff), it is the power and wisdom of God for those who believe (1:18, 21ff). Men look at the cross and ridicule it and shame and despise it. “How might anything good come from a cross?” they mockingly question. Yet the believer understands that there […]

The message of the cross

What is the message of the cross? “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.” […]

Bragging rights

It’s been called “the Me Monster” — the insatiable desire to exalt oneself and boast in one’s accomplishments. A toddler will say, “Watch me, Mommy.” A mom might say, “I just got my child’s report card today…” A businessman will say, “I just closed the deal I’ve been working on for six months…” A pastor […]

Prophecy and the crucifixion

Jesus was not only resolute in His intention to go to the cross, but God intentionally planned the death of Christ. Consider, for example, the number of Old Testament prophecies that John alone says were fulfilled at the crucifixion of Christ (other Gospel writers offer even more prophetic fulfillments in their crucifixion accounts): Jesus’ tunic […]

They didn’t know what they were saying

At the trials and crucifixion of Christ, there were many accusations made against Him. Yet these accusations and declarations were far closer to the truth about Christ than those who uttered them realized. A few examples: Caiaphas — “Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to […]

“They crucified Him”

The words of the crucifixion are simple: “And they crucified Him” (Mk. 15:24). Yet there is a horror behind this kind of death, as one doctor has told: Simon is ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus is quickly thrown backwards with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the […]

Paradoxes of the crucifixion

Whenever I read the account of the crucifixion of Christ, I am always amazed at the simplicity of the account of the actual crucifixion (for instance, Matthew almost regards it as an afterthought — “and when they had crucified Him…,” Mt. 27:35) and the ironic and paradoxical activities surrounding the events of the crucifixion. Consider […]

The cup that the Father gave Christ

We have been reading the Gospels for almost four months in our Bible reading program. For four months we have been consumed with Christ. For four months, each day we have had a new or increasing view of the nature of Christ. Perhaps the temptation has been to think, “there must be something more that […]

“It must happen this way”

Last week was the Passion week, which culminated in Easter Sunday. Many spent the week reading and contemplating the final events of Christ’s life before the cross. And then this week our Bible reading plan has taken us to that same week again. Isn’t that just too much about the cross? Do we really need […]

“Not My will…”

Last night as we read the account of Christ’s betrayal, crucifixion, and death at our Good Friday service, I was particularly struck by Christ’s willing submission to the will of the Father — a will that decreed that the Holy One take on sin and the attendant cup of God’s wrath. “My Father, if it […]

What happened when Jesus died

Jesus made His way into Jerusalem with the praise and adulation of the crowds on Palm Sunday. And when it was over, the people went home and the Pharisees said to each other, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him” (Jn. 12:19). They were wrong and […]

Don’t miss the obvious, and…

Comparisons are virtually always a bad idea (I’d say “always,” but I was taught that it’s always bad to say “always”). Inevitably, we favor ourselves in our comparisons and we fail to be objective in those comparisons. Even in the church, it’s tempting to offer comparisons that are unfair to the ones compared. For example, […]

A psalm of the cross

Psalm 22 is familiar to many readers not so much for the psalm itself, but for how Christ and the New Testament writers used this psalm. Spurgeon calls it “The Psalm of the Cross,” writing, “It is the photograph of our Lord’s saddest hours, the record of his dying words, the lachrymatory of his last […]

Christ’s sacrifice

A healthy baby was born in the hospital down the street. Ho-hum. God provided for your basic needs again this week. Yawn. You shared the gospel with someone this week and he trusted Christ. Of course. Your spouse/child/parent/friend loves you. Okay. The extraordinary has become ordinary. It happens in life. And it happens in the […]

Preparing for communion

This Sunday we will observe the ordinance of communion in our worship service. As I have been preparing for that (and my sermon) this week, I have been thinking about the gospel and its implications. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians, it is most important — of first importance. John Stott captures some sense of […]