Mark 15
There are four times in the Gospel of
Mark that Jesus is called the Son of God. Chapter 1 verse one named Him so. People who were possessed by demons called him such. (3:11 & 5:7) But the first
person to recognize Jesus as the Son of God was the centurion, who stood
watching Jesus die on the cross. “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Why does this matter?
It matters because it helps us
understand where we can know Jesus as He wants to be known. It is not by God’s
Law. Nor is it in His glory. We know Jesus is the Son of God by His suffering
and death.
Martin Luther commented in his Heidelberg
Disputation theses that the works of God appear unattractive and evil, while in
reality they offer real eternal benefits. On the other hand people always try
to do things that appear attractive and good, but in the end these are mortal
sins because they’ve put their hope in themselves rather than the ugly work of
Christ on our behalf. (Heidelberg Disputation theses 3 & 4)
Today many people want to hear messages from
God’s Word about how to live well, feel well, or be well. There is benefit in
speaking of God’s plan for how we live day to day (which is found in His Law),
but when the message of God’s people focuses more on how to live than on how
God has saved us and given us life, we have lost the powerful message of the
Gospel. Without the cross, we cannot look and believe that, “Truly this man was
the Son of God!”
Cross-less Christianity is Christ-less
Christianity, and that leaves it just as “I-anity”; just another religion that
focuses on “I” - me and what I do. It is the cross that we are baptized into. Now
if we are baptized into Jesus’ death we hope for His resurrection as well, but
it is not His resurrection that we receive in baptism – but the hope, and
guarantee of resurrection.
No, our lives are about the cross. Taking
it up. Proclaiming it. Knowing nothing other than Christ crucified. We live in
light of Jesus’ death. We are forgiven because Jesus’ blood was shed for us. We
will rise because Jesus died, and He rose. Cling to the cross.
Lord Jesus, help me know the value of Your
death on the cross, and help me share Your death, which won my forgiveness,
with others. Amen.
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