The Work of Grace (Part IV)
13/07/08 10:51
In the 12th chapter of the Gospel of John, we see
Jesus knowing full well that His time to go to the
Cross was near. While the multitude was around Him,
there were some Greeks who had asked Phillip to point
Jesus out to them. When Phillip and Andrew brought
these men to Jesus, He took the opportunity to teach
the crowd. Notice, that even though Jesus knew that
His time was near, He was still thinking about the
people – that is the grace of God.
Jesus’ heart was troubled and He questioned out loud, “Now, my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
The trial that Jesus was entering into would be the greatest trial that any man would ever have to face. No matter what takes place in our lives, nothing we could ever go through would even begin to compare to what He was about to experience. Even if all the trials of our lives would be compiled together and mounted up before us, they still would not be worth comparing to what Jesus knew He was about to face.
Can you imagine what it would be like to know that in just a few days you would be crucified? Please remember, Jesus lived wholly unto God and never sinned even one time. He knew no sin and because of that He had a perfectly intimate relationship with His Father. There was no sin whatsoever to hide the face of God from Jesus’ life.
Jesus knew the Father perfectly and God knew Jesus perfectly. I do not mean to be redundant but I want to emphasize that Jesus’ relationship with God, the Father, was the most important thing in His life –this is also the evidence of the grace of God. Now the time had come when this relationship would be put in jeopardy. If Jesus had sought to be delivered from this agony, then self would have ruled the will and sin would have entered in. Sin did not dominate! He would go to the Cross – He, who knew no sin, would become a sin offering.
Jesus knew that He was going to take our sin unto Himself and that would ultimately bring about what He never wanted – separation and a broken relationship from God. It was a no win situation for Jesus, yet, He knew that this is what His Father wanted. He would go to the Cross!
He would glorify the name of His Father! He would (by the grace of God) serve God, even if it meant becoming obedient to death. And so, He humbled Himself (again, it takes the grace of God to humble oneself) and offered up His body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
As the hour drew near, we find Jesus seeking God’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane. His soul was overwhelmed, even to the point of death. His friends had let Him down and He was alone with His pain and sorrow. Yet, He wasn’t alone – for His Father was with Him.
This should teach us all, praise God! No matter how alone we feel – our Father is with us! No matter how hard the struggle, the grace of God enables us to endure it! And because He was forsaken – we shall never be! This little study can be summed up as such: God has given us all grace so that we may become more like Jesus Christ, who made every attempt to glorify God with His life.
The Lord bless you this week!
Pastor Jim
Jesus’ heart was troubled and He questioned out loud, “Now, my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
The trial that Jesus was entering into would be the greatest trial that any man would ever have to face. No matter what takes place in our lives, nothing we could ever go through would even begin to compare to what He was about to experience. Even if all the trials of our lives would be compiled together and mounted up before us, they still would not be worth comparing to what Jesus knew He was about to face.
Can you imagine what it would be like to know that in just a few days you would be crucified? Please remember, Jesus lived wholly unto God and never sinned even one time. He knew no sin and because of that He had a perfectly intimate relationship with His Father. There was no sin whatsoever to hide the face of God from Jesus’ life.
Jesus knew the Father perfectly and God knew Jesus perfectly. I do not mean to be redundant but I want to emphasize that Jesus’ relationship with God, the Father, was the most important thing in His life –this is also the evidence of the grace of God. Now the time had come when this relationship would be put in jeopardy. If Jesus had sought to be delivered from this agony, then self would have ruled the will and sin would have entered in. Sin did not dominate! He would go to the Cross – He, who knew no sin, would become a sin offering.
Jesus knew that He was going to take our sin unto Himself and that would ultimately bring about what He never wanted – separation and a broken relationship from God. It was a no win situation for Jesus, yet, He knew that this is what His Father wanted. He would go to the Cross!
He would glorify the name of His Father! He would (by the grace of God) serve God, even if it meant becoming obedient to death. And so, He humbled Himself (again, it takes the grace of God to humble oneself) and offered up His body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
As the hour drew near, we find Jesus seeking God’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane. His soul was overwhelmed, even to the point of death. His friends had let Him down and He was alone with His pain and sorrow. Yet, He wasn’t alone – for His Father was with Him.
This should teach us all, praise God! No matter how alone we feel – our Father is with us! No matter how hard the struggle, the grace of God enables us to endure it! And because He was forsaken – we shall never be! This little study can be summed up as such: God has given us all grace so that we may become more like Jesus Christ, who made every attempt to glorify God with His life.
The Lord bless you this week!
Pastor Jim
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