More... We All Need a Hero

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:6

It is my contention that every epic story must have a hero.  Without a hero stories have no hope.  Think about it.  Imagine Darth Vader without Luke Skywalker.  Or the Wicked Witch without Dorothy.  Or the Joker without Batman.  Bleak.  

Aren't these stories a picture of the bigger Story though?  We need more of God, more of His forgiveness and grace, more of His saving power.  More.  We are compelled to hold out for hope.  It is written into our DNA. 

This past week my son, Andrew had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz with a team of students from Taylor University.  He hasn't talked at all about that visit.  I'm sure he's still processing.  But I did have opportunity to read about their experience from the eyes of another team member.  It was sobering, to say the least!  These are young people whose lives are before them, who love Jesus and have followed Him to serve in the Czech Republic this January.  Yet they came face to face with the evidence of death and it shook them to their core.  It's a formidable reminder that pure evil loves death.  Jesus, well aware of this told His followers, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy." (John 10:10a)

Fortunately for us when God wrote His story death didn't get the final say when Adam and Eve fell.  Oh, hear me well!  We live in the consequences of their actions today but God didn't leave us alone in those consequences.  In the midst of handing out the curse to the serpent God laid out a beautiful promise to His children.  A war?  Yes, but a Savior too!  "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:15)  Bible scholars believe that Eve took this promise to heart for when she gave birth to her first son she named him Cain, which means possession.  In the name given to her son she basically declares to God "I believe you've given me what you promised!"  Now if you remember your Sunday school stories from Genesis you know that Cain wasn't the fulfillment of that promise.  No, instead he murders his brother Abel.  There is still room for a hero!

Just as God promised, a hero does arrive on the scene...in the most unlikely of places - a manger.  And not just any manger!!!!  His birth signifies that He will become the ultimate sacrifice, reconciling humanity back to God.  He lives His life, His public ministry demonstrating His ability to restore all things to God.  And then, much to the surprise of those who believed Him to be the promised Messiah, He is sentenced to die the cruelest and most torturous of all deaths...crucifixion.  Jesus does not run from it.  In fact he addresses his betrayer, Judas, in friendly terms when the crowd comes to arrest Him. "Friend, do what you came to do." (Matthew 26:50)   He is not afraid to die; it's what He came to do.  This is no accident.  God made legal provision for this sacrificial death generations before this moment. Moses writes in Deuteronomy 21:22-23:  

And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death 

and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body 

shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him 

the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God.

Don't miss this!!!  This is extraordinary as there is no provision in the Law for crucifixion or hanging...except this one passage.  Yet here is the phrase that makes it possible for Jesus to be for us the hero of all time - a hanged man is cursed by God.  There is no other way that Jesus could legally incur the wrath of God except to be hanged on a tree - crucifixion!  Stunning!  And through that death God the Father allowed Jesus to take our place in the spot of condemnation!  We've been saved!!  Paul, a scholar of the Law, recognizes this.  He tells the Galatians,  "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith."  (Galatians 3:13-14)

We can't have more of God unless we accept that Jesus is the hero we all need.  In the hours before His arrest and crucifixion Jesus imparted a number of significant truths to His closest disciples, one which is absolutely crucial to our understanding.  He told them "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  (John 14:6)  No one.  No exceptions.  Jesus is the only way to the Father.  If you have never accepted this reality, know that More isn't available until you do.  If you have accepted this reality, don't ever forget.  It is the heart of the gospel.  It is central to having More.

Today I leave you with the lyrics to a modern day hymn, In Christ Alone written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend that summarizes today's blog with complete clarity.

In Christ alone my hope is found;

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the pow’r of Christ in me;

From life’s first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—

Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.

— IN CHRIST ALONE" WORDS AND MUSIC BY KEITH GETTY & STUART TOWNEND COPYRIGHT © 2002