Ensign: The Death of the Savior

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3

AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS                                                  27 March 2015

[I haven't come back to the theme of Lent, the traditional forty days in which the Christian church honors Jesus' final week before His dying on the cross and His rising from the dead three days later. This is the second year in a row that in addition to my morning Bible study -- it works for me, you may study afternoons or evenings -- I've also been reading in Up to Jerusalem, a 1936 devotional by Paul E. Kretzmann. Sometimes to read something that was published around the time your parents were born (my mom was born in '36) opens your eyes as it did mine to something you did not consider. Reading this that I did in Kretzmann today might do that for some of you too. -- David]

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FRIDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK IN LENT

When Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished; and when He had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit; and having said thus, He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.

One of the most impressive characteristics of the Lenten story, like that of the entire Gospel account, is its simplicity. A modern writer [in 1936! How much more so now? -- D.] would feel almost constrained to give a full description of the scene in terms of the surroundings as a background of the drama which was being enacted, of the attitude of the various classes of men who were assembled at or near the cross, and especially of the exact thoughts which passed through the minds of the Savior as He laid down His life for all mankind. But we find no such descriptions, no ornamental adjectives, no subtle analyses, only the simple story: Thus did the Son of God die for the guilt of humanity.

As Jesus had known the exact time and hour of His great Passion, so He also knew the very minute when His sacrifice had accomplished its purpose. Therefore it was immediately after His receiving the vinegar that He cried out: It is finished. The prophecy of old was fulfilled in every particular, in every detail; the plan of God had been carried out as decided upon in the council of the Trinity from eternity; the work of salvation had been brought to a conclusion. It is finished declares that the transgressions are forgiven, that heaven is again open to fallen mankind, that death has lost its sting. Thus this cry was a cry of victory, with which the Lord, at the very time of His death, made known to the world the purpose and significance of His suffering and death.

And once more He cried out, not in a feeble gasp, but with a shout of victory, as He commended His spirit, His soul, into the hands of His heavenly Father. No longer did He address Him as God, a stranger as it were, but as Father. And to this Father, the eternal and omnipotent Father, He commended His soul. And at the same time He bowed His head and gave up the ghost, entrusted His soul to His father, He, of His own free will, in a voluntary act, laid down His life, for He had power to lay it down, just as He had power to take it again. Thus Jesus died a true death. The band between soul and body was severed. Thus He offered Himself as a sacrifice. Thus He became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. And by the death of Jesus God showed His love toward us, for He was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, while Jesus was dying for us, while we were yet enemies. He was delivered for our sins, and therefore His death is our salvation.

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David

P. S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with you, and I hope it encourages you too. If I'm not or you want me to get lost, please let me know -- thank you!

Thank You, Lord, that we can come to You in praise and prayer and that You provide for all our needs, even the ones we don't know we have! Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence there and around the world.

Thank You, Lord, for all of us in leadership and service here and abroad, as well as for opportunities we have and the promise of new life! I pray we all seek and have a blessed week. Amen.