Jo Ann Davidson

In the fifteenth year of the Roman emperor Tiberius, Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea, Herod the tetrarch of Galilee, when the word of God came to a John, a preacher of a baptism of repentance in the region of the Jordan (Lk 3:1). From the land of Judea and from Jerusalem multitudes came and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins (Mk 1:5). Tidings of the wilderness prophet and his wonderful announcement, spread throughout Galilee. The message reached the peasants in the remotest hill towns, and those who fished by the Sea of Galilee, and in these earnest hearts found its truest response. In Nazareth it was also told in the carpenter shop that had been Joseph's, and Jesus recognized the call. His time had come. Turning from His work as a carpenter, He bade farewell to His mother, and followed in the steps of His countrymen who were flocking to the Jordan.

Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins, and closely related by the circumstances of their birth; yet they had had no direct acquaintance with each other. The life of Jesus had been spent at Nazareth in Galilee; that of John, in the wilderness of Judea. Amid widely different surroundings they had lived in seclusion, and had had no communication with each other. God's Providence had ordered this. No occasion was to be given for the charge that they had conspired together to support each other's claims.

John was acquainted with the events that had marked the birth of Jesus. He had heard of the visit to Jerusalem in His boyhood, and of what had passed in the school of the rabbis. He knew of His sinless life, and believed Him to be the Messiah; but of this he had no positive assurance. The fact that Jesus had for so many years remained in obscurity, giving no special evidence of His mission, gave occasion for doubt as to whether He could be the Promised One. The Baptist, however, waited in faith, believing that in God's own time all would be made plain. It had been revealed to him that the Messiah would seek baptism at his hands, and that a sign of His divine character should then be given. Thus he would be enabled to present Him to the people.

When Jesus came to be baptized, John recognized in Him a purity of character that he had never before perceived in any man. The very atmosphere of His presence was holy and awe‑inspiring. Among the multitudes that had gathered about him at the Jordan, John had heard dark tales of crime, and had met souls bowed down with the burden of myriad sins; but never had he come in contact with a human being from whom there breathed an influence so divine. All this was in harmony with what had been revealed to John regarding the Messiah.

As Jesus asked for baptism, John drew back, exclaiming, "I have need to be baptized of You, and You come to me?" He shrank from granting the request of Jesus. How could he, a sinner, baptize the Sinless One?

With firm yet gentle authority, Jesus answered, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." And John, yielding, led the Saviour down into the Jordan, and buried Him beneath the water. "And straightway coming up out of the water," Jesus "saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him...."

The solemnity of the divine Presence rested upon the assembly. The people stood silently gazing upon Christ. His form was bathed in the light that ever surrounds the throne of God. His upturned face was glorified as they had never before seen the face of man. From the open heavens a voice was heard saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." These words of confirmation were given to inspire faith in those who witnessed the scene, and to strengthen the Saviour for His mission. John had been deeply moved as he saw Jesus bowed as a suppliant, pleading with tears for the approval of the Father. As the glory of God encircled Him, and the voice from heaven was heard, John recognized the token which God had promised. He knew that it was the world's Redeemer whom he had baptized. The Holy Spirit rested upon him, and with outstretched hand pointing to Jesus, he cried, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

Just a few weeks ago we observed Easter. However, those who live in this country readily admit that the public commemorations for the Easter season in this country are never as extensive as we find for Christmas with all the extravagant holiday decorations adorning storefronts and malls and with Christmas music on most radio stations for two months. And though we all realize that modern Christmas merchandising has little if anything to do with the birth of the Christ Child, one can hardly deny that Christmas has become the focal point of our calendar year. The Easter season just doesn't call forth the same lavish attention. If anything, Easter festivities are usually linked with bunnies and jellybeans. It is easier and much more pleasant to celebrate the birth of a tiny baby than a man dying on a cross.

However, it is significant to note that this modern priority is reversed in Scripture. For in the New Testament Christmas is NOT the primary focus. In the four Gospel accounts of the Messiah's life, the events surrounding and including the CRUCIFIXION carry the major emphasis. The staggering miracle of Christmas is mentioned only slightly by comparison. Let's review this phenomena: Look at Matthew, only the first two chapters of his 28 deal with the birth of Christ. Mark's gospel begins with the ministry of John the Baptist and Christ is already an adult. No mention is made of baby Jesus born in Bethlehem. The third gospel of Luke commences with the birth of Christ, but again only the first two chapters, out of 24. John's Gospel also begins with John the Baptist and Christ's adult ministry. Mark and John omit any narrative of Christ's birth. Matthew and Luke include it, yes, but in small proportion compared with the rest of the material in their books.

However, after such treasured recounting of the birth of baby Jesus, both Luke and Matthew, and in fact all four Gospel writers, quickly shift emphasis. Rather than providing detailed, informative accounts of Christ's childhood and early adult life, the reader is almost immediately drawn into the events leading up to and including the Crucifixion. Even though only two Gospels record Christ's birth, one cannot avoid noticing the pointed/determined focus of all four Gospel on just ONE WEEK of Christ's life. From one-third up to a half of each of the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John is devoted to the week of Christ's death. All four Gospels rivet our attention on the Cross. They force us to "behold the Lamb of God."

Despite the astounding miracle of Christ's birth at Bethlehem, his 30 years in Nazareth, His profound adult teaching, His mighty miracles of compassion and power, these vital events are not the central focus of the New Testament record of Christ's life. Rather, what dominates the gospels is not the living, but the GIVING of the Messiah's life. As remarkable as His birth and ministry were, the great mission of Christ's life was His death. Even Jesus Himself often referred to His death.

Consider one of Christ's explicit sayings about his death. For example, in Mk 10:32-45, we find Jesus is enroute to Jerusalem with his astonished disciples and a fearful group of followers. As they walk, Jesus graphically describes what is about to happen to Him:

"Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and to the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles: and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.'" (Mk 10:32-34)

At that moment, Mark inserts the word "Then." As Jesus concludes the painful description of His impending death, and though sensing that great events are about to unfold, but obviously not understanding their character or true significance, James and John approach Jesus with a request: they want to be given the positions of greatest authority at the Lord's side when he comes into his glory which they assume will happen shortly. The other disciples are indignant. Not because of the two brothers are insensitive toward Christ's approaching torturing death. Oh no. Rather, they resent that James and John had beaten them to the draw in their brash request. They also want to be pre-eminent. A squabble breaks out among them, and Jesus is forced to intervene. He reminds them of the nature of true greatness in His kingdom: pre-eminence/greatness demands not the self-assertion and lordliness of the Gentile authorities, but sacrifice. Linger on His words: (Mk 10:45) "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served," He insists, "but to SLAVE [what the Greek word really means], and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Here is Christ's own summary of his mission. Notice, He declares that His work finds its crown not in his teaching or in performing miracles, or in high position, even though that is what His disciples still presumed. Rather, He has come ultimately to SLAVE and to die, clearly echoing the portrayal of the Suffering Servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53. Jesus comes to pour out his life as a substitute for those of us condemned to death because of sin. We are liberated from the terrible penalty and bondage of sin by Jesus' sacrificial death. And this type of sacrificial slaving and dying displays the real nature of His Kingdom.

Even the sacrament of the Last Supper, instituted by Christ Himself, and the only commemorative act He personally authorized, dramatizes neither His birth, nor His life, nor His words, nor His works, but only His DEATH. Christ Himself wished above all else to be remembered by His death .

About this time of year, the United States celebrates several patriotic holidays. Just a month ago the citizens of the United States celebrated Memorial Day+in honor of the tragic deaths of American soldiers who have given their lives for this country's freedom. Just two weeks ago was Armistice Day, again memorializing the severe cost of lives in war. Thess dates were never intended to be merely a day of great sales and discounts at the mall. War is a horrible curse in human history. This fact was reinforced in my mind once again.

Our son Jonathan recently graduated from college. His senior year in academy, he opted to take a trip to our nation's capital, Washington, D.C., to fulfill a project for his class in government. His dad and I were the drivers of a van of several students working on the same project. During the week, we visited Arlington Cemetery + and as we gazed across acre after acre of little white crosses, each one marking the grave of a beloved member of some family, we were stunned into silence,at the reminder of so many deaths.

And then there was the Vietnam War Memorial. ALL THOSE NAMES carved into black marble. Column after column of names+of young men, sons and brothers, cousins and dads, still missed by their families ... cut down before they could even live out their lives. As we watched that day, some of the names were being touched by lonely fingers and lingered upon with tears running freely. I couldn't help but wonder how different the history of this country might have been if all those thousands of soldiers had not been slaughtered in the prime of life in war and instead could have enriched this country with their abilities and strengths.

During that we also walked through the other war memorials on the great mall facing the Washington Monument. If you've been there, maybe you also noticed the striking different between the earlier war memorials which depict soldiers with proud patriotism and strength in their eyes with the more recently constructed ones. The memorials for the Korean War and the Vietnam War, now depict the soldiers now more realistically with fatigue, pain and sorrow etched on their faces.

We also toured the Pentagon, each of the five vast halls displays large-scale photography actually taken during the wars American soldiers have fought in. We saw clearly the ugliness of war, the pain, the anguish, desperation, and the horror. These panels are not the glamorous shots the armed services use in their media commercials. These pictures showed the exceeding deadly cost of war.

War is a ghastly reality of this world. It is fitting that once a year we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives for our country. The GREAT WAR still continues, however. The GREAT CONTROVERSY between Christ and Satan. And even though the decisive Batter has been fought and won, that War even yet continues mounting up terrible casualties too. We don't need to be reminded that any war is always deadly, spilling blood. Many Christian churches now exhibit a memorial for the decisive battle in this universal, long-lasting War. The memorial which Christian churches use is a copy of the one God Himself erected,the Cross.

But there on Mt. Calvary on that "old rugged cross" hung a condemned criminal that most people were having a difficult time recognizing as God, for He was being summarily executed and dying. "Oh, sure, you're the Messiah! Ha!" they screeched and sneered at Him. "You don't look like God to me." For Jesus, who is God, was now being crucified in a torturous death. The harshness of the event is a crucial aspect of understanding the incredible grace that is offered to us from that ugly cross. Crucifixion was designed to inflict maximum torture.

No, the cross was not a welcome sight then. And with our tidy, artistic representations of the cross on churches, on church bulletins, and in Christian materials, it is easy to forget how ugly and despised the cross really was in the time of Christ. It was the ultimate horror to face. There was nothing appealing about the cross in Christ's day either.

In light of this, in the light of the Great War, the deadly Battle with Satan that Jesus, our Mighty Warrior, fought and won, we would do well to deepen our own understanding of the Crucifixion. For to the biblical writers the death of Christ is not some peripheral or optional theory. Rather, it is the primary focus. Thus, this afternoon, let us briefly review two crucial aspects of Christ's Atonement.

1. First of all: have you ever heard of any Christian questioning the love of Christ? Many of our hymns rightly honor the love of Jesus for us. And our children sing so happily, "Jesus Loves Me." Yes, the love of Christ is warmly affirmed by all Christians. But the love of the FATHER for us is something else. It is the love of the Father that many stumble over. Therefore, lest we harbor some lingering misunderstanding that through His death on Calvary Jesus was trying to persuade an angry Father-God to forgive us, we should immediately recall the biblical passages reminding us that "GOD so loved the world that HE gave His only-begotten Son ... (Jn 3:16). The apostle John just couldn't get over the love of the Father: "I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you ... Behold what manner of love the FATHER has bestowed on us ... In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him ..." (John 16:26-27; 1 Jn 3:1; 4:9)

The apostle Paul also speaks with the same certainty numerous times: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ ..." (Eph. 2:4-5)

In Romans 8, there is another passage so often rightly used to assure us of Christ's unquenchable love. However, it is easy to overlook a tiny prepositional phrase in this passage that colors the meaning very significantly!----as Paul states it:

"Who shall separate from the LOVE OF CHRIST? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... For I am persuaded that niether death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE OF GOD which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rm 8:35, 38-39)

We must not overlook that tiny little phrase which insists that nothing can separate us from the love OF GOD which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Scripture insists that the Father's love is the source, not the consequence of the Atonement. God doesn't love us because Christ died for us; Christ died for us because GOD LOVED US. Let us understand clearly that the horrible death of Christ was not made in order to entice the Father to love those He otherwise hated. It was not made to produce a love that was not in existence. Rather, it was a manifestation of the love that was already in God's heart.

2. However, Scripture also carefully instructs us that the forgiveness God offers through the Cross is no mere winking away or overlooking of sinfulness as if it were some trivial problem,as an overindulgent parent might do, saying, "O I forgive you, it's OK". Nor is it a matter of God's feelings being hurt by our sinning. Holy Scripture is clear enough that though God's love for His children is indestructible, He is deadly in earnest against sin. One cannot avoid the large number of biblical texts emphasizing God's intense wrath concerning sin. The Bible is clear: God NEVER forgives sin,NEVER! He only forgives sinners. And the Cross shows us how deadly sin is.

Maybe it is easy for us "modern" Christians to convince ourselves that despite all our "minor" mistakes,you know, like unforgiven bitterness, little white lies, impatience, intemperance, we aren't really so "bad". And possibly we imagine that God shares this same complacency about us. Perhaps, because sin doesn't make us angry, we find it difficult to believe that sin provokes the wrath of a Holy God. However, Scripture insists upon the seriousness of sin, and that sin separates us from God. None of the Bible writers ever suggest any such notion that a person might some day simply drift into the kingdom of God, naturally forgiven because God is love.

I find it important for me to often review these two basic foundational pillars of the biblical teaching of the Atonement: God LOVES me; but He HATES sin. As a committed Christian I have considered that I had a basic knowledge of these Scriptural concepts. It seems simple enough to understand. No big deal. What else was there to know?

Our family was living in Israel not too long ago now. And as Easter approached that year, we started making plans to travel to Shechem and witness the Samaritan Passover. Dick had learned that they still sacrificed sheep in their tradition this one time each year and thought we should go.

I must admit I was reluctant. The Intifada/tensions between the Arabs and Jews were raging and tensions were high. We were going to need a special government permit to travel to Shechem (a hot spot just then) and I just didn't think it was worth all the trouble and possible danger. But what was really happening was that I was finally having to honestly face my feelings about the Old Testament sacrificial system, and the times I have "secretly" questioned it. You know, those hidden thoughts one foolishly hopes God will never notice as He tends a universe? For I have wondered why the Creator couldn't have taught what He wanted us to learn about sin and forgiveness some other way.

As we waited for the Passover service to begin on that windy hillside of Mt Gerizim, I was alternately furious with myself for coming, yet somewhat curious, and then again experiencing more negative feelings against the God-ordained sacrificial system.

Following the ceremony I was more upset than ever. It was horrible to me, ugly, repulsive, and I was nauseous. I spent much of the evening stroking my contrary attitude, when a different perception abruptly jolted my thinking like a lightning bolt. And this thought stunned me---------IS SIN THAT TERRIBLE?

Suddenly I was convicted that the Sacrificial System was not something we did for God, but something God used to try to teach a desperately difficult lesson. God didn't need the sacrificial system. We did. For how else COULD He rivet in our minds the horrible offense and extreme costliness of our sin? How ELSE could He portray His own innocent self suffering the judgment and death that sin causes. HOW ELSE COULD He show the depths of His own love for this unbelieving planet? For just as the innocent lamb there on Mt. Gerizim had struggled against the death knife, so the sinless Messiah, in the prime of His manhood, wrestled with the horror of death until blood seeped from His forehead. You remember His agonizing cry as He fell prostrate, clutching the cold earth in Gethsemane: "If possible, O My Father, PLEASE let this cup pass from Me."

No, the sin problem is not just a trite matter of the God of Heaven having His feelings hurt. And Christ's atoning sacrifice was not an artistic crucifix between two candles on an altar. It was an awful torturing death which tore apart God from God. It was an execution. The Godhead was at war with itself, the most inconceivable event in the history of the universe. Christ bore God's holy wrath against sin to the utmost upon Himself because God loves us more than His own life.

And as these concepts washed over my soul on our return trip back to Jerusalem that night, I kept asking, "But, God, HOW can you love us that much? How can You love us THAT much?" I finally realized how much I need to learn about REAL loving, and REAL forgiving. The Holy God against whom we have sinned Himself drinks the dregs of the cup of punishment for sin that we deserve. The apostle Paul states it: "For God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us ..." (2 Cor 5:21).

Our son Jonathan was deeply moved by Christ's sacrificial death and wrote this song (I wish he could be hear and sing it for you):

What Kind of Love is This?

What kind of love is this?

That God would form us from the clay

Knowing we like sheep would go astray

That we would spurn His holy name

That we would lay Him whence we came...

What kind of love is this?

What kind of love is this?

That God would take our flesh and sin

Be made like us so we could be like Him

That He our priest would draw the knife

And offer Himself as our sacrifice ...

What kind of love is this?

What kind of love this is ... ^[1]

War is a ghastly reality of this world. The Great War is the worst of all in casualities. In fact, the ultimate battle of Christ on the Cross should cause us to recall EGW's counsel--"well to spend an hour a day contemplating the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes." She even exhibits the same concentrated focus in her book on Christ, The Desire of Ages, as do the four Gospels. Almost two-thirds of her book on the life of Christ also concentrates on the last week of Christ's life leading to His death.

What a better time, than this world convocation of the Seventh-day Adventist church, to behold the Lamb of God which takes away our sin. The Cross was the ugliest, most horrible instrument of torture that had yet been devised. But this is not what killed Him. Our sins did. And Christ was willing to bear our punishment to win the Great Battle with Satan for me and for you. And because of that, the Cross has been transformed into the glorious memorial of God's love. And now, we "glory in that old rugged Cross."

Even the great reformers were moved by the Cross. As Jan Hus (John Huss) faced his own execution he wrote the following letter to his friends knowing he would soon be burned at the stake. And he was drawn to the cross:

"[pray] that [God] will accord me with His truth, so that I may face with courage temptations, prison, and, if necessary, a cruel death... He is God, and we are His creatures; He is the Master of the World, and we are contemptible mortals,yet He suffered! Why then should we not suffer also.... Therefore, Beloved, if my death ought to contribute to His glory, pray that it may come quickly, and that He may enable me to support all my calamities with constancy." (GC 105)

The Protestant Reformers contended that Christian faith will always be misunderstood if the Cross is misunderstood. For Christ and His Cross stand at the center of God's disclosure of His moral will and saving ways in Scripture. Indeed, without the Cross we are without the magnifying glass through which God's love and holiness are most keenly seen. To stand beneath the Cross is to stand at the one place where the character of God burns brightest and where his radical resolution of the sin problem is settled for all time.

It is hard to stand here, though. The cost of admission to this place is the humbling of our pride. For to stand here is to repent of our natural tendency to elevate our own ideas of what is right and wrong and to accept instead the judgment of God on our sinfulness. The cost of admission includes our being willing to be rid our self-righteousness, and to acknowledge instead how really corrupted we are inside. It is to displace ourselves from the center of the universe and to elevate Christ to that place of honor. It is to accept God's sobering evaluation of us rather than the rosy assessment we are inclined to register upon ourselves.

This is a hard place to stand, and few choose to stand here. That is why so many have dismissed the Cross, refusing to pay the cost. It is why in our own time, much preaching on the cross is hesitant to announce the extreme price of admission to its benefits,the humbling of ourselves and our need of repentance. The reality is that in the contemporary world we live in, the enmity we should feel toward sin is now often directed toward God.

Ellen White also counsels us, that if we would deepen our grasp of Christ's Atonement, then, she assures us, even "our prayers will be more and more acceptable to God, because they will be more ... intelligent and fervent." (Steps to Christ 88-89, emphasis added) Yes, ironically , it is hard sometimes, to even accept God's love and forgiveness.

When the poet Lucy Shaw beheld the Lamb of God and wrote these words:

Do you wince

when you hear His holy name made vanity?

What if we were not so safe-sheltered,

circled by friends and convention in our sheltered communities?

What if the world sneered at you?-----------

"You're crazy; you're drunk' you're a devil//a liar//KILL HIM!"

Could you take the string of vulgar words-----------

and hang the grimy ornament around your head and answer

FATHER, FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT ...

See the sharp stones poised

against your head!

Even your close friend

couples your name with curses ... "I SWEAR I don't know Him"-----

the obscene affirmation of infidelity . . . . echoes, . . . insistent,

from a henhouse roof ...

Then--------SLAP! SPIT! the THORNS . . . . . the WHIP.

The gravel grinds your fallen knees under

a whole world's weight until

the hammering home of all your innocence

stakes you stranded, halfway between hilltop and heaven -----

And will you whisper

FATHER, FORGIVE ...?

It is a fact more amazing than life. God adopted us at the cost of His Son's life and at the cost of His own sorrow. This is more than any human being can comprehend. In fact, Ellen White reminds us that "In this life we can only begin to understand the wonderful theme of redemption. With our finite comprehension we may consider most earnestly the shame and the glory, the life and the death, the justice and the mercy, that meet in the cross; yet with the utmost stretch of our mental powers we fail to grasp its full significance.... The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity." (GC 651)

"Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world."