Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying,“ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is,
“MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
(Matthew 27: 45-46)
Jesus Christ uttered this mournful cry from His Cross on that first “Good
Friday.” The Apostle John standing with
Jesus’s mother Mary a foot of the Cross heard Jesus’s words. Later, the Apostle Matthew, once a hated tax
collector, recorded the words. Before Jesus
gave up His life, John and Mary would hear His final words, “It is finished” (John
19: 30, 33). Having witnessed the crucifixion,
suffering, and death of Christ on a Roman Cross, John later wrote, these
words have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20: 31).
At the foot of the Cross, John must have been tempted to agree with Satan and the
powers of darkness. Indeed, darkness seemed
to have overtaken the light. God the
Father had forsaken His Holy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and Christ’s death was
the end, accomplishing nothing. But this
great error in thinking lies in the promise God made thousands of years earlier
as recorded in Genesis, the first book of the Bible.
Genesis 3 reveals the beginning of the story of Easter, the Cross, and the
Resurrection of Christ. The rest of the
Bible is the unfolding account of a perfect creation, the fall of man into sin,
an infinite separation between holy God and sinful man, and reconciliation by
the sacrificial death and resurrection of the Holy Son of God. This is the account of the Gospel, the “Good
News” that Jesus came as fully God and fully human, lived a sinless life, was
crucified and rose again to open the way to Eternal Life in Heaven to all who
call upon Him by faith in Jesus’s atoning sacrifice for sin. Far from dimming the light on that first “Good
Friday,” Christ’s death opened the Way to Eternal Life and Light.
Below is a series of seven daily readings that reveal elements of the “Good
News.” Our theme is “From Alienation and
Separation to Reconciliation.” We hope you
will understand even more clearly the significance of Christ’s crucifixion,
death, and resurrection to your life personally. This is the real reason for celebrating
Easter.
Day 1: God Is Good
Scripture: Genesis 2: 7-9
Interpretation: In the beginning, God created the heavens and
the Earth for His glory and pleasure. He
created the first man, Adam, from the dust of the ground and placed him in a
perfect environment, the Garden of Eden.
Out of His goodness, God saw that it was “not good” for the man to be
alone. So, God created woman from bone
taken from Adam’s side so the she could be his helpmate (Genesis 2: 18-25). When God had finished His creation, He took
pleasure in it and saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very
good (Genesis 1: 31). God had
created numerous kinds of trees bearing fruit for Adam and Eve to enjoy (v. 16). But He also set a boundary around one of the many
trees, saying, from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not
eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die (v. 17). As long as they followed His command, Adam
and Eve enjoyed sinless communion with God and walked with Him in the Garden of
Eden (Genesis 3: 8).
Application: We have seen that the goodness of God was
obvious in His Creation and its overflowing benefits to Adam and Eve. Centuries later, God revealed Himself to
Moses at Mount Saini with these words, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate
and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who
keeps lovingkindness for thousands… (Exodus 34” 6-7a). God reveals His goodness both in His Word and
in His creation.
Ask Yourself: Do
you believe God is good? Was God any
less good for commanding man not to eat of one of the trees?
Day 2: God’s
Goodness Questioned
Scripture: Genesis 3: 1-6
Interpretation: Adam and Eve had enjoyed perfect communion
with God and walked with Him in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3: 8). That is, until Satan came questioning God’s
integrity and authority: Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any
tree of the garden (Genesis 3: 1)’? And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired
to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also
unto her husband with her; and he did eat (Genesis 3: 6). Satan had successfully appealed to the “cravings
of the flesh, the longing of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2: 16).” First, he tempted the woman; then the man. Both succumbed to Satan’s temptations and
they chose to eat.
Application: When God had commanded Adam not to eat of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He warned, for in the day that you
eat from it you will surely die (Genesis 2: 17). But in spite of this stern warning intended out
of the goodness of God’s nature and for the protection of His human image
bearer, Adam took and ate the forbidden fruit.
Satan had convinced Adam that God was not good. Otherwise, why would God keep Adam from
enjoying something so inviting to him?
Ask Yourself: Can
you remember thinking that God is keeping something better from you? Do you question God’s goodness at times? To be tempted is not sin. It’s only when we yield to it that we sin. What is James’s solution? See James 4: 6-10.
Day 3: Religion:
The Human Solution
Scripture: Genesis 3: 6-8
Interpretation: When Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit,
their eyes were opened. They
became conscious that something had changed.
They had changed! Their
consciences were awakened to realize they had violated a moral standard of God. They responded by hiding from God among the
trees and hiding their bodies from each other by clothing themselves with fig
leaves. Their intimacy with a holy God and
with each other were destroyed and replaced by guilt, shame, and alienation.
Application: Adam and Eve’s answer to their guilt and shame
reveals to us their choice of religion—i.e. their approach to
gain right-standing with a holy God. They
chose a “hands on approach,” trying to be presentable to God in their “fig leaf
clothes.” Their approach was the
beginning of what we now call “good works salvation.” Justification by works rather than yielding
through faith to receive God’s forgiveness and reconciliation. Thankfully, God is good, and He has a better
plan for our reconciliation.
Ask Yourself: Can
you relate to Adam and Eve’s fear and shame when you recall a time when you
rebelled against the authority of a parent, teacher, employer, or
government? Romans 5: 12 describes how we
were all born with Adam’s sin nature.
But we have hope in Christ (Romans 5: 1).
Day 4: Relationship: God’s Solution
Scripture: Genesis 3: 8-24Interpretation: Adam and Eve, God’s image-bearers, had rebelled
against His moral guidelines—i.e. they had committed sin. Consequently, their intimate communion with God
and between each other was replaced by guilt, shame, and alienation. What’s more, Adam and Eve were hiding, wanting
to be free of God and the consequences of His standards. Does that sound familiar to you? Today,
many have rejected God, and the increasing lawlessness and chaos in our land
shows what happens when God and His standards are not upheld. Adam and Eve were the first humans to experience
the consequences of violating God’s standards, and yet they sinned even more by
blaming each other (v. 12-13). But
God’s goodness showed forth again. He
went seeking the sinners! God called to
Adam, “Where are you?” What a profound, soul-searching question. God already knew the answer, but Adam and Eve
felt guilty and afraid!
Application: You may recall times when you have acted
badly, perhaps even as a child. You felt
the guilt and separation from your parent or parents. Hopefully, you can also
remember the stern but loving discipline you received, sometimes with a
spanking; and then, how their correction brought peace to your soul. But how could God who is Holy, and therefore
cannot let sin go unpunished, atone (“make reparation for, cleanse,
cover the sin”) for sinful humans without compromising His own integrity? First, God followed the chain of blame from
the husband to his wife who then blamed the Tempter (v. 12-13), and then, He pronounced
the curse and consequences of sin upon each party (v. 14-19). God wanted Adam and Eve to admit their sin. But in His perfect love, God also wanted to redeem
(“buy back”) His broken image-bearers and all of His creation from an infinite
separation. He also wanted to judge
Satan. But how could God do this? The answer is in the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Ask Yourself: Many believe that if we could eliminate the
notion of God and His absolutes of right and wrong, there would be no sin—no consequences
of guilt and shame when we think or act badly?
But wouldn’t the result be lawlessness and chaos? Thankfully, there is a God who loves us. Each of
us must give an account and answer God’s question to Adam, “Where are you?” Where you are in relation to God? Without forgiveness of sin, we are infinitely
separated from God.
Scripture: Genesis 3: 17-21; Romans 5: 12; John 1: 29
Interpretation: We left you somewhat hanging yesterday with “holy
dilemma.” How could God who is Holy and cannot
let sin go unpunished, atone (“make reparation for, cleanse, cover the sin”)
for sinful humans without compromising His own integrity? After confronting Adam and Eve with their
sin, the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife (Genesis
3: 21). God would offer a far more
costly sacrifice than a religious, fig leaf covering. The Creator of animals had to sacrifice innocent
animals—innocent because they were not morally accountable like the humans were! God’s covering of Adam and Eve’s nakedness
required the shedding blood. This first
blood sacrifice, and then all of the animal sacrifices offered by the Jewish temple
priests in the nation of Israel were a foreshadowing of the Man who would come
as the Perfect Lamb of God and offer Himself to atone for the sin of mankind.
Application: Adam’s sin had great consequences. Back on Day 3, we referred to Romans 5: 12
which states that as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world,
and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned… The stark truth from God is, “ALL have sinned!” If this is true, could any of Adam’s descendants
dare offer himself as a sinless sacrifice?
Psalm 49: 7-8 reveals,
No man can by any means redeem his brother
Or give to God a ransom for him—
For the redemption of his soul is costly,
And he should cease trying
forever—
Ask Yourself: Would
you deny your standing before God as a child of Adam who bears the curse of sin
worthy of death (Romans 5: 12)? Or would
you dare to offer yourself as a sinless sacrifice to redeem others as Jesus did? Unless we trust in the redemption of the perfect
sacrificial Lamb of God we remain in darkness and in infinite alienation from
God. Do you know Him personally?
Day 6: Our Creator Became the Lamb
Scripture: John 1: 1-5; 10-14; Luke 4: 1-13 Hebrews 9: 13-14; Genesis 3: 14-15;
Interpretation: Who is this Man called “the Lamb of God?” Chapter 1 of the Gospel of John identifies the
Lamb as Jesus Christ, “the Word of God” who “was God.” This “Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full
of grace and truth.” John the Baptist, Jesus’s forerunner who preached
repentance of sin, pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world (John 1: 29).” Jesus Christ was fully God and fully human. He was born the “seed of the woman,” but not
from the seed of His earthly father, Joseph (Genesis 3: 15; Matthew 1: 20). In 1 Corinthians 15: 47, we read, Adam,
the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second
man, came from heaven. Christ was
fully God, the Creator of the first Adam; yet He was fully human, born of Mary,
as the “second Adam.”
Application: Christ, the second Adam, came as a perfect Man,
but He constantly battled horrendous temptations from the Tempter, and physical
and emotional sufferings, aimed to cause Him to sin and fail like the first
Adam. The Gospel accounts tell of the
many ways Jesus was attacked. But He
continually depended on His Father in Heaven and remained the sinless Lamb. The Jewish priests had offered sacrificial
lambs for over 1,500 years, but they were not sufficient to fully cleanse from
sin. In Hebrews 9: 13-14, we read: For if the blood of goats and bulls and the
ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the
cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the
eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God?
Ask Yourself: According to the Jewish calendar, they
selected a “lamb without blemish” five days before offering it in the
sacrifices of their Passover celebration.
In order to fulfill God’s prophetic calendar, Jesus, God’s perfect Lamb,
entered Jerusalem riding on a lowly donkey, on “lamb
selection day.” During the Jewish Passover, God’s Lamb was slain
for the sins of the world, including for you and for me. Take time to read beginning in John 12 and
respond as appropriate in repentance and in worship of the Lamb who gave His
life redeem us from sin and death.
Day 7: Darkness Breaks into Dawn’s Brightness
Scripture: John 18-20; Luke 24: 1-35
Interpretation: John 12-17 gives us an inspiring account of
Jesus’s final days. They were filled
with drama, hateful accusations met with His gracious manner, and intimate times
alone with His disciples to prepare them for His suffering and death. Our Scriptures for today tell of Jesus’s arrest,
trials, Peter’s denial, and Jesus’s sentence to be crucified (John 18). Jesus was mocked, brutally beaten, and
eventually sentenced to carry His Cross to Golgotha. There He was crucified according to a method
of the Romans designed to cause excruciating suffering on the way to death (John
19). In Philippians 2: 6-8 we read, Christ
Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality
with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He
humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross. Jesus who was infinitely Holy
experienced humanly the infinite alienation from God that is our condition
without God’s redemption.
Application: Our theme, “Is Light Dimming and Darkness
Winning?” may have been the question of Jesus’s followers during the succession
of terrible events of “Passion Week.” The
death and burial of Christ appeared to be a victory for Satan and the powers of
darkness. But we read in John 20 that on
what we now call Resurrection Sunday, Mary Magdalene found the stone rolled away
from Jesus’s tomb and His body was not there.
Matthew 28: 6 reports that an angel had told Mary, He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. As the good news spread, the darkness of
doubt and despair gave way to the bright light of hope. The Risen Christ showed Himself to His disciples
and hundreds of followers. He also
explained at length to two men who were “slow of heart to believe” how His life,
death, and resurrection fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures (Luke 24: 25-27).
Ask Yourself: Are you a “fool, slow of heart to believe?” If you have never trusted Christ and developed
a personal relationship with Him, we hope this series of devotionals has made
the Gospel (“Good News”) clearer to you.
For believers, we hope these readings have been an inspiring part of your
commemoration of this Easter season.Easter: Celebrating the Resurrection of a Loved One
Easter morning, or
better “Resurrection Sunday,” carries a special significance to all who realize
that the Empty Tomb is evidence that there is hope beyond the grave. Although Christ-followers still grieve when loved
ones die in Christ, we do not “grieve as those who have no hope” in life after
the grave (1 Thessalonians 4: 13). Proof of our faith is the wellspring of hope that
helps us bear the sting of death of a loved one.
In a twinkling of an eye, Donna was gone from us but we will see her again
because Jesus gave His life to close an infinite gap of our separation from God
by faith in His shed blood on His Cross.
When we simply look in faith to the Cross as Donna did, darkness gives
way to the light of the dawn of the Resurrection of the Risen Christ.
Care to Comment?
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to
hear from you. Maybe you would like to share a spiritual insight or
recommend a devotional source. Just post a “Comment” below or e-mail to silviusj@gmail.com
If you have never encountered the “Good News” or Gospel, let us
help. The “Good News” is summarized in an outline called “Steps
to Peace with God” (Click HERE.). It explains God’s love, our
predicament (sin and separation from God), what Jesus has done to address our
predicament, and what you can do by faith to receive God’s righteousness (right
standing with a Holy God). Hope you will have the Joy of Easter!
