Yes! There is Good News! 5.6.17

The death, burial, and resurrection of the Son of God! It really is quite a story. It begins, well … before time began, actually. We catch a glimpse of this in the book of 1 Peter 1:20, “He (Jesus Christ) was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” The Apostle Paul says it this way in his letter to Titus 1:2, “… the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness and rests on the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the beginning of time.” This understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done is really the crux of all that may be called “good news.”

Do we really understand all of this? No, I mean really understand what this means to us?

I try never to shy away from talking to others about this very important topic, and yet when it comes right down to it, most people have no concept of the depth of love our Savior has for us! Yes, we pay some lip service to it. It is as a friend of mine once said to me, “Most people only want 10 cents of Jesus Christ – just enough to save their consciences. They don’t want to change their lives so as to live for Him.” I have thought of that statement a lot, and I have thought of my own commitment to my God and His Son.

Paul in his letter to the Romans starts off with the statement, “Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ.” James in his letter says, “James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” In Peter’s second letter, he begins the same way – he calls himself a slave. Now, we may read these statements and our translations use the word “servant,” but the Greek word is one that means “slave.”  These guys were not fooling around. They understood who their Master was and they acted like it.

The Bible says that God changes not – He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is still the sovereign ruler over the entire universe. The heavenly hosts around the throne of God are found to “fall down before God and worship Him who is seated on the throne.” And it was not for angels that He gave up His life. Should we behave differently?

In last week’s article, I wrote a little bit about the 120 mile journey that Jesus and His disciples took as they wended their way to the city of Jerusalem. He was going there to give His life up in a most horrifying death and even after telling these men about it four times, they still did not fully understand. Do we understand? We sit here with almost 2000 years of hindsight – do we fully understand?

The good news began before the start of time. The good news came to Mary as she was with child. The good news came to the shepherds tending their flocks one night. The good news came to the multitude of Jews living in the land of Palestine. The good news came to 12 young men, 11 of whom were to be sent out into the world to preach and teach.  The good news came to a man named Pilate and he washed his hands of it. The good news came to 4 Roman soldiers who nailed Him to a cross after beating Him almost to death. And now the good news is come to you – what shall you do with it?

Until we meet again ….