Beneath the Cross of Jesus

By Mark Largen

The cross of Jesus Christ stands at the center of human history, a place of suffering yet also a place of redemption.  As Jesus hung on that cruel wood, abandoned by most of His disciples, only a few devout women and the Apostle John remained by His side.  His enemies mocked Him, soldiers gambled for His garments, and the crowds passed by without care.  It was a place of rejection, yet it became the place where love and sacrifice met in their fullest expression.

Golgotha, the “Place of the Skull,” was not an inviting place.  It was a location of execution for criminals, a place of tombs.  His loved ones watched in agony as their Lord suffered.  His enemies perhaps experienced a degree of satisfaction in seeing Him crucified.

Yet, for Christians, it has become a place of refuge.  Beneath the cross, we find shelter in Christ’s sacrifice.  His suffering brought forgiveness, and His death gave birth to new life.

The world sees the cross as foolishness, but for those being saved, it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).  Jesus Himself called His followers to take up their own crosses—to deny themselves, to lose their lives for His sake, and in doing so, to find true life (Matthew 16:24-27).

The Apostle Paul echoed this truth when he declared, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).  The cross is not merely a historical event but a daily reality for those who follow Christ.  It is the place where pride dies, sin is forgiven, and hope is restored.

As the hymn so beautifully says:

“I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face;

Content to let the world go by, to know no gain or loss;

My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.”

May we, like those faithful few at Calvary, remain near the cross—not as spectators, but as those who embrace its message and carry it into the world.

Blessings Through the Blood of Jesus

By Steve Gwin

When Jesus established the memorial of His death, He said, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:25, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”  What a wonderful blessing it is that through the blood of Jesus we have received a new and better covenant in which God has promised to remember our sins no more (Hebrews 8:8-12).

The Scriptures declare other blessings for believers through Jesus’ blood on the cross:

1. Justification: Romans 5:9 states, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”  To be justified means to be declared innocent.  Through Jesus’ sacrifice, believers are seen as innocent before God, despite past transgressions.

2. Redemption: Ephesians 1:7 reveals, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”  Redemption implies being freed from captivity through the payment of a ransom.  Our sins held us captive, and there was nothing we could do to free ourselves.  Jesus’ blood liberates believers from the bondage of sin, granting freedom and forgiveness.

3. Nearness to God: Ephesians 2:13 states, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”  Our sins had resulted in us “having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).  Christ’s blood allows believers to have a close relationship with God.

3. Reconciliation: Colossians 1:20 explains, “and through him to reconcile to himself all things… making peace by the blood of his cross.”  Reconciliation means the restoring of harmony between us and God, allowing believers to experience divine peace.

4. Clear Conscience: Hebrews 9:14 assures, “how much more will the blood of Christ… purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”  Jesus’ blood removes the heavy burden of a guilty conscience and enables wholehearted service to God.

5. Cleansing from all sin: 1 John 1:7 promises, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light… the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”  Christ’s blood gives us the assurance that we need not worry about eternity if we will repent of our sins because Jesus’ blood can cleanse us from all sin.

In summary, the blood of Jesus establishes a new and better covenant, justifies us, redeems us, reconciles us to God, purifies our conscience, and cleanses us from all sin.  These blessings are profound gifts that transform our relationship with God as well as our lives.

Let us continually give thanks for Jesus’ blood which provides us with these immeasurable blessings.

Ice, Snow, Sin, the Sun and the Son

By Mark McCrary

Over the past few days, a winter storm has blanketed our area, and more is on the way.  At first, the beauty of the snow seems harmless, maybe even beautiful. Yet, beneath the surface lies danger. Ice coats the roads,  making travel treacherous. Branches bend under the weight, snapping and falling. Power lines collapse, plunging homes into darkness, and leaving areas of Louisville in disarray.

Like such a storm, sin often appears enticing and harmless at first. But when it takes hold, it weighs us down, disrupts relationships, and leaves damage in its wake. Romans 6:23 reminds us, “The wages of sin is death,” showing the ultimate consequence of sin’s icy grip. Just as the storm paralyzes movement and isolates us from others, sin separates us from God, leaving our souls cold and fractured.

But there is hope after the storm. When the sun comes out, the ice begins to thaw, and the snow melts away. Roads clear, trees straighten, and light returns to homes. The sun brings hope of restoration. The sun changes everything.

Similarly, the true Son, Jesus Christ, has the power to melt away the effects of sin in our lives. Through His sacrifice, He offers healing to our frozen hearts. John 1:29 declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” His light shines into the darkest corners, melting away guilt, shame, and separation. Isaiah 1:18 captures this beautifully: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Just as the sun transforms the storm’s effects, the Son transforms our brokenness into beauty, offering us peace with God and a life filled with His love.

In life, storms will come, and sin will tempt. But the sun that melts the ice is a reminder of the Son who heals the soul. Will you turn to Him, embracing His warmth and light, allowing Him to make all things new with you?

“Let This Cup Pass from Me”

By Steve Gwin

On the night before Jesus was crucified, He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.  His prayers were “with loud cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death” (Hebrews 5:7).  Matthew 26:39 records some of the words Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”  What was this cup that Jesus wanted to pass from Him?

Jesus had mentioned a cup He was going to drink in a conversation that seems to have happened only a couple of weeks earlier when the mother of James and John asked Jesus if her sons could sit, one on Jesus’ right and the other on His left, in His kingdom.  Jesus responded in Matthew 20:22-23, “You do not know what you are asking.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”  He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”  It seems clear that Jesus used the words, “drink the cup that I am to drink” to refer to His suffering.  James and John would indeed someday each suffer because of being His apostles.

When Jesus prayed “if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me”, He was using “cup” figuratively to represent all the suffering He would endure within the next several hours:

• falsely accused in repeated mock trials the rest of the night and into the next morning (Matthew 26:59-61; 27:1-2)
• repeatedly mocked, slapped, and spat upon (Matthew 26:67; 27:30-31)
• scourged, which was a brutal whipping that was so very painful as His flesh was ripped away (Matthew 27:26)
• a crown of thorns put on His head (Matthew 27:29)
• humiliated by stripping Him of His clothes (Matthew 27:28)
• the excruciating pain of crucifixion (Matthew 27:35)
• even more than all of the above, bearing all the sins of all humans, past, present and future (1 Peter 2:24).

It is likely that Jesus had an additional idea in mind when He prayed “if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me” because we read in Jeremiah 25:15-17, “Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.  They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.’ So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it:”  In verses 18 through 27, numerous nations are mentioned, and then in Jeremiah 25:28-29, “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink!  For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished?  You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of hosts.’”  Drinking the cup of God’s wrath represented nations receiving God’s judgment for their sins.

A similar use of the “cup” figure of speech is in Revelation 14:9-10, “And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.’”  Again, drinking the cup of God’s wrath represented receiving God’s judgment for sins.

Let us every day give thanks for Jesus enduring the judgment we each deserve for our sins.  Jesus had no sin, but He drank the cup of God’s wrath for our sins, so we won’t have to drink it. 

What It Means To Be Born Again

By Paul Earnhart

Nicodemus, the great Jewish rabbi, must have been shocked when Jesus said to him, “You must be born again.” (Jn. 3:7)  There was nothing Nicodemus was prouder of than his first birth.  He was born as a descendant of Abraham.  He might well have described himself as another Jewish rabbi did: “circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews.” (Phil. 3:5)  What better birth could a man have?

Jesus, of course, was not speaking of another physical birth.  He was speaking of a figurative new birth.  It was another way of saying that Nicodemus would have to make a completely new beginning.  The first birth of Nicodemus determined his family relations, his nationality, his cultural heritage, his language, and even to a great degree his goals and values.  All of these would have to become new for him.  Many people talk of being born again without realizing the significance of the expression.  The fact is no matter what a person may have experienced, if these changes have not taken place in their life, they have not been born again.

“How can a man be born when he is old,” Nicodemus asked? (Jn. 3:4)  Perhaps you wonder that, too.  Jesus answered the question, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Jn. 3:5)  The Holy Spirit changes the spirit of mankind.  Jesus said, “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (Jn. 3:6)  This is accomplished through the word of God which the Spirit has given.  Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:23 that Christians have been born again through “the word of God which lives and abides forever.” 

But there is another part of the new birth.  Jesus said that one must be born of water and the Spirit.  The only act the New Testament describes involving water is water baptism.  When the Spirit has changed the inner man, the outer man must be washed in the water of baptism.  Have you been born of the water and the Spirit?