Focus: Matt 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23, John 13-19
I walked into the auditorium excited to be at this mega church for an exciting conference on outreach and preaching. The speakers were first rate and the conference was sold out. I saw banners proclaiming some of the opportunities for members to work in the inner city with the homeless and posters for several missionaries that they were supporting. Yet, something felt wrong as I walked into this sanctuary. I wondered what it was. Then it hit me. There was no cross in this building. It could have been a college lecture hall or symphony concert hall. I am not sure why there is no cross in some churches when they are doing great ministry. It does point to a concern of mine. What does it mean that Jesus is Savior? For us, the story of the cross is central and we show it, but savior had different meanings to many in Jesus’ day.
Some want a Savior who will give an easy life. Matt 17:4 On the way to the cross, Jesus takes three of the disciples up on a mountain for the transfiguration. There they get a bit of heaven. Moses and Elijah are there and Jesus is in all His glory. Here trouble was far away and the gates of heaven were opened. Some still think that Jesus came to give the easy life. They are disappointed when life has problems or when ministry is tough. There is a desire to expect heaven without the cross. And when the Christian life is not easy or people face problems, they think that Jesus has failed.
Some want a Savior who will provide for their needs Luke 19:38 It is Palm Sunday and Jesus is riding into Jerusalem on a colt. The people decided that the Messiah had come and was ready to take His throne in Jerusalem. He would push out the Romans and would take over the throne of great king David. Peace and prosperity will be had by all men here in Judea. Some still think of Jesus as the savior from our problems. Feeling sick, Jesus will cure you. Need a job, the answer is a simple prayer away. What if someone doesn’t get well or that job doesn’t come?
The real Jesus came to be a Savior from sin John 19:30 He never said that His work as Savior was done when he rode into Jerusalem or when He healed some sick person. His work when He diedon the cross. It was what God had promised Adam and Eve in the garden and what God had continued to promise through the ages. The Savior had finished it. Man was forgiven. It is what all of us are really here for. We need someone who will take away the guilt that haunts us from the past and the eternal death that haunts the future.
It isn’t pretty to see His beaten and bloody body on the cross. It was something that only one of the twelve disciples could bear to come and see on that day. Yet, it was for this reason that He came. Make Jesus a great prophet who died too early in life or a caring man who helped many who were ill or hurting and you miss the whole point of His life. He came to die. He came to save us from sin. Everything else was secondary to Him and should be to us. The heart of the Bible is that we are all sinners who sin daily and can’t save ourselves, but that God sent His son to come and save us by His death and resurrection. Believe in the cross and everything changes. All the other things that people want from Jesus are now possible. Savior can mean many things to many people. What it meant to Jesus was a cross and salvation from sin and eternal death.
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