During that time, people certainly would have seen it and asked about it. It took Noah and his family 120 years to complete it. Jesus proclaimed His victory over those who were defeating usĭuring that time, the Lord told Noah to build an ark. Christ has defeated their power in our lives.Ģ. Now, we don't need to be mastered by sin, Satan, or the fear of death. And now, all who trust in Jesus can look forward to experiencing resurrection as well as the Holy Spirit indwells all who believe. Then Jesus rose from the grave by the power of the Holy Spirit. The righteous died for the guilty in order to satisfy the wrath of God against our sin and then bless us with the gift of His righteousness, which we lacked. Jesus, God the Son, took on flesh, became a man, and suffered the penalty we deserved. Into this mess we had created, Jesus inserted Himself to address the problem. We were all guilty and none of us could correct this problem because we were all guilty of the same thing. We did it anyway and were doomed to suffer the fate of eternal condemnation and separation from God. Before mankind rebelled against God, we were warned that if we broke fellowship with the Lord, we would die. He isn't in a state of perpetual suffering. I regularly see portrayals of Him suffering and I recognize that some theological traditions held by certain Christian denominations treat communion as if it is a repeated crucifixion of Jesus, but that isn't the case.
Jesus suffered and experienced all kinds of malice at the hands of the very people He had lovingly created. My leg and ankle healed, but I can tell that they are prone to repeat that injury.ĭuring the earthly ministry of Christ, His body was tortured. When the injuries were fresh, it felt like the pain and suffering would never end, but eventually it did. My leg, almost up to my knee, was swollen and changed all different colors. Several times during my life, I have sprained my right ankle. Jesus experienced death and resurrection in order to defeat sin's power in our lives The work He has done on our behalf is of far greater significance and far greater effect than we often realize.ġ. This portion of Scripture helps us gain a better glimpse of some of the obvious and some of the behind-the-scenes things Jesus accomplished for us. We're so used to the benefits He brings to our lives that we don't consider the kind of mess we'd be in without Him. What would our lives be like without Jesus? What kind of future would we be currently looking forward to if He hadn't intervened on our behalf? Sometimes, it can be far too easy for us to become complacent in our understanding of what He has accomplished on our behalf. As we think about its content, some Christians will learn something new while others will be reminded of things they haven't thought about in a while. The portion of Scripture that we're about to look at probably incorporates both benefits. Other times, we have the benefit of being reminded of something we already know that we haven't necessarily thought about in a while.
When we read the Scriptures, sometimes we have the benefit of learning something new.
It can be a little too easy for us to lose sight of who Jesus really is and what He has chosen to accomplish on our behalf. Sadly, there are many contexts where that has been an issue historically, and it's also a concern in some contexts during present day. Imagine attending a church worship service and never hearing the message of the gospel taught or proclaimed.