The Joy of Glory

Acts 2:22-36 (click here)
…this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. (Acts 2:23 and 32)

Reflection
Who killed Jesus?

Was it Rome? Israel? You and me? Or was it God? The short answer is… yes.

All too often we want to give simple answers to complex questions… we want to streamline a multi-faceted issue, and the cross of Christ is multi-faceted in a horrifyingly beautiful way.

God killed Jesus. He was sovereign over the cross and Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. The cross was the eternal plan of the triune God. We might call it the great conspiracy of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus can be spoken of as the lamb slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8) because the cross was always the plan… it was always his plan (John 10:17-18).

If the triune God sovereignly planned the cross and guaranteed its outcome, then can we even say that anyone else was responsible for the cross? I mean… doesn’t that mean that the Romans, the Jews, and even us had no choice in whatever part we “played” in the crucifixion of Jesus?

Herein lies one of the greatest mysteries of Scripture… God’s sovereignty does not eliminate our responsibility… and our responsibility does not encroach upon God’s sovereignty! God is sovereign…true. We are responsible…true!

I know of no greater passage that brings this reality to the forefront than Acts 2:23… God was sovereign over the cross, and wicked lawless people were responsible.

When I look at the cross I see the result of my wickedness AND God’s righteousness. I see my hate AND God’s love. I see the horror of my sin AND the beauty of God’s salvation! Oh the glory of God in the cross!

Who killed Jesus? My sin murdered him… the Triune God’s love sacrificed him.

Come behold the wondrous mystery! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afXZlzZdUiI

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Matthew 12:6 and 16:21-23 (click here)
I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. (Matthew 12:6)

Reflection
The temple.

We can scarcely imagine how central the temple was to Jewish life. It was a massive structure, able to be seen from anywhere within the city of Jerusalem (and from a long way off when approaching the city). It literally loomed over life. You couldn’t escape the presence of the temple, this massive reminder of the presence of the one and only massive God.

And oh the beauty! Precious stones, gems, carvings, sculpture, stone work, and lots and lots of gold. It was quite a sight to behold, constantly reminding the people of the infinite beauty of the invisible God!

All Israel would journey to Jerusalem multiple times a year for various festivals which all centered around the temple! It was the place where heaven met earth…where God’s presence was made manifest! Nothing and no one was greater than the temple.

Then… Jesus.

This untrained rabbi from Nazareth, who was constantly making outlandish claims, struck at the very heart of Jewish identity with the words, “…something greater than the temple is here.”

How could that be possible? How could anything be greater than the temple?

How could anything manifest the presence of God more? How could anything do a better job of connecting heaven and earth? How could anything else be at the center of Jewish life?

The only way that could actually happen would be if God himself showed up outside the temple! The only thing better than the temple, was the God who dwelt there! He’d have to show up personally in order for the temple to be second best…and that is what he did.

Jesus was and is God in the flesh. He was and is like a walking talking temple. He connects heaven and earth. He is the “place” you go to meet with God! He is the one greater than the temple!

If you want to know God, meet with God, see God, hear from God… you no longer go to the temple… no… something greater than the temple is here…

If you want to know God… you go to Jesus.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Psalm 16:10
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

Reflection
Fear of abandonment.

We all feel it. I have recurring dreams that are centered around fear of abandonment. Why? I think part of the reason is because we fear that people would leave us if they only knew certain things about us. If they truly knew who we are, what we’ve done, and the things that go on in our hearts…they’d hit the road in 0.2 seconds.

The good news of the Gospel pierces to the very core of this fear. God has promised to never leave us or forsake us. We will never be abandoned. This promise comes from the only one who truly knows all of who we are, all of what we’ve done, and all of what goes on in our hearts.

He will never abandon us.

That is not a problem that we will not go through difficulty, pain, and suffering. Many people equate such suffering with abandonment by God, but such is not the case. No matter what it may feel like, God walks with us through suffering…and even in death we are not abandoned.

In Psalm 16:10, King David speaks prophetically that God will not abandon those who trust in him to the grave. Rotting in the ground will not be our final resting place. David may not have known all the details, but in Acts 2 Peter picks up this very passage and proclaims it to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:22-32).

Jesus went to the grave for us, conquered it, and made a path out of it! All who trust in Jesus will not be abandoned to the grave, but shall one day rise as he rose to life everlasting with him.

We are not a people who need to fear abandonment, for even in death, God has gone before, he goes with us, and he brings us through it to be with him forever knowing joy in his presence (Psalm 16:11).

Fear of abandonment? Not for those who trust in the God who will not abandon us to the grave or let us see corruption!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.