Daily Gospel Devotional 2013: Paid in full, not paid in hell

Luke 23:44-48…

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” These words of Jesus were used to fulfill the prophecy of Psalm 31:5. Jesus had laid down His life voluntarily, when He wanted to and how He wanted to (John 10:18), which we know was in accordance with the Father’s will. He suffered the wrath of God for us on the cross.

There is a sinister teaching out there that says that Jesus, before His resurrection, while He was in the tomb, was actually suffering at the hands of demonic forces in hell, paying the price for our sins there, not having finished the matter on the cross. That is blasphemy. Jesus didn’t suffer additional torment in hell at the hands of demons (Psalm 16:10 / Acts 2:27). He had control over His own spirit, and after the Father had poured out His wrath upon our Lord, Jesus suffered no additional punishment. The Father crushed His soul, not Satan (Isaiah 53:10-11). The cry of John 19:30, it is finished, is a victory cry. Christ meant what He had said; the price for redemption was paid in full at Calvary.

This brings up another point. Have you ever seen pictures, cartoons, comics or other depictions of people in hell with Satan ruling, and demons tormenting them? This isn’t what the Bible depicts hell as being like. Demons will not be tormenting people in hell; it is God who will be punishing the wicked. The devil and his angels are going to be tormented themselves, not allowed to assist in tormenting others (Matthew 25:41 / 2 Peter 2:4). Remember the demons that wondered and asked Jesus, “Have you come here to torment us before the time” (Matthew 8:29)?  It is Jesus who will torment the demons, not the other way around!

Jesus won the victory on the cross; He paid our sins in full right there (Colossians 2:15). Jesus didn’t have to make a deal with the devil; those demonic forces weren’t going to have a beat down session in hell with Christ as the whipping boy. This is why Paul preaches Christ, and Him crucified, not Christ, and Him suffering in hell (1 Corinthians 1:23).

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Daily Gospel Devotional 2013: Amazing signs

Mark 15:33-39 / Matthew 27:51-54…

And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. This was no natural event. The darkness reflected the truth that this was the time when the Son of God was suffering the wrath of a just and holy Father God against sin. It was the Lamb of God, Jesus, in our place (Isaiah 53:10-11 / 2 Corinthians 5:21).

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the temple (Exodus 26:31-35) was large (60 feet long and 30 feet wide), and as thick as a man’s hand. Christians see this event as a sign that we can all now enter into the presence of God. Jesus is our High Priest (Hebrews 9:3-12, 10:19-23).

The tombs also were opened. Jesus is the proof of the principle of resurrection. The destruction of death was foreshadowed by this powerful evidence, when many holy people were raised from their graves to testify about Him, that Jesus would be the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20).

Everyone who has ever lived will actually live forever. But not all have a saving faith in Jesus Christ. The truth is that all will be resurrected at some point, some to eternal life, and some to suffer the second death, which is eternal damnation (John 5:28-29 / Acts 24:15).  Death will be dead (1 Corinthians 15:26 / Revelation 20:5-6, 13-15).

And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last…The centurion in charge of this crucifixion could clearly see that Jesus was different, and the darkness and earthquake that accompanied Jesus’ death clearly indicated that He was divine.

What say you to these amazing signs?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Daily Gospel Devotional 2013: A very certain call

Matthew 27:45-50…

This cry from Jesus illustrates the depth of His suffering as He felt Himself regarded as sin though He was sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21). We are reminded of John 3:16, Isaiah 53, and 1 Peter 2:24 as we see the Son of God bearing the sin of the world. This cry of desolation comes at the close of the three hours of darkness. However, it was not only a seeming cry of desolation but also a declaration. Jesus was not simply acting out a part. No, His pain and suffering were very real, but even amidst this agony He knew what the conclusion would be.

Still, Jesus suffered the ultimate loneliness. Some of the people that had shouted “hosanna” now shouted “crucify Him”. Some of the disciples who had stayed with Him now denied, deserted, and betrayed Him. But much worse than all of this, more worse than we can possibly imagine, was the forsaking by the Father of His Son. The Father had spoken words such as, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” but now was silent. The Father had let the Son be beaten, spit upon, mocked and mangled at the hands of men, finally to be hung on a cross, a tree, a curse to a Jew, which Jesus was.

But He was more than a Jew, He was the Son of God, and all this other pain and suffering was nothing compared to the absence of that sweet communion Christ had always known. Jesus’ faith did not fail. He cried out to God, not against God, but the Father did not answer Him in tenderness, but with wrath (Isaiah 53:10). Even when Jesus had poured out His own blood in the prayers at Gethsemane, God the Father was still with Him, and He had the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, as He had always known. But He had known nothing of the pain of desertion and the suffering of damnation He endured on the cross.

Yet this wasn’t an uncertain cry but a very certain call. When Christ called out to God in this manner, clearly He was consciously quoting this part of Psalm 22 as an illustration of the fact that He was fulfilling all of this Old Testament prophecy. Jesus drew the attention of the Jews to this scripture while He was hanging on the cross. Psalm 22 was a Messianic Psalm, and the second half is hymn of victory (vs.22-31).

Certainly Jesus was in a real sense “forsaken”, yet He also knew the final outcome of all this, and so therefore endured the greatest suffering of all time. Jesus’ cry was about suffering the world’s penalty due to sin, but it was signifying more than just that. It was the voice of the eternal victor who proclaimed the eternal victory of the Messiah to His people who were the victims of their own sin. He was supremely confident of the Father’s ultimate deliverance of Him through the resurrection of His body before it had even seen decay (Psalm 16:8-11 / Acts 2:24-31).

Every person who has ever been born has felt alone and forsaken and wonders if God is real and if He cares, even Christians go through these sorts of things. But only Christians, those born again to a living hope can also cry, “it is finished” (John 19:30), and thereby know that God will never leave nor forsake them (Hebrews 13:5), on account of Christ.  When you do that it is not an uncertain cry but a very certain call.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©