The location is just outside the wall surrounding Jerusalem. The time is close to 2000 years ago. A man who was well-known throughout they entire region has been hung on a cross, and now those who were instrumental in putting him there are mocking him. This man claimed to be the King of the Jews, the Messiah -- in fact, that is the only charge found against him by the authorities. The religious leaders in Israel have accused this man of blasphemy, and now they mock him as he hangs in agony: |
"He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe." (Mark 15:31-32)
Little did these men know that what they really needed to believe was for this Man to die.
Had Jesus exercised His spiritual power and come down from the cross like the religious leaders had wanted, the spotless sacrifice would have become blemished. Sin would not have found its ultimate defeat in the death of Christ. Like a sheep led to the slaughter, Christ did not make a sound, but simply submitted to the will of the Father. because of that sacrifice, those who repent of their sin and put their trust fully in Him will be washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.
The Pharisees and other religious elite did not understand this. They did not understand the very practices of the Law that they said they upheld. They did not see that Jesus was the ultimate, once-for-all fulfillment of the sacrifices they made over and over, year in and year out.
This harkens back to a parable that Jesus had told not long before this fateful day. The parable spoke of two men: one, a rich man who indulged in all the pleasures the world had to offer, the other a very poor man named Lazarus whose life was characterized by affliction and suffering. When these two both died, we see that the script has been flipped! Lazarus was taken up into heaven and came into the presence of the Lord and the patriarchs, while the rich man was cast into the torment of Hades. The rich man then appeals to Abraham, asking that he would send Lazarus to him to help ease his suffering. This is out of the question, for not only are both the rich man and Lazarus receiving the ultimate reward of the lives they lived on earth, but also there is a chasm between heaven and hell that cannot be crossed. So then, the rich man appeals that Lazarus be allowed to reveal himself to the rich man's brothers who are still alive, so that they might be saved from this torment. Abraham tells him,
"They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them." And [the rich man] said, "No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." [Abraham] said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. (Luke 16:29-31
The religious leaders did not truly understand the Law and the Prophets, and so they were not convinced when Jesus did rise from the dead. They claimed knowledge and righteousness. But what they really needed was to realize their unrighteousness, and to confess that they had not understood the ways of the Lord, and to put their trust fully in Christ.
The same is true today. People look for miracles as reasons to believe, but true knowledge of saving faith comes from the conviction of the Word of God. If they do not hear of their sinfulness and their need of a Savior, how can they come to the conclusion that they need to turn to Christ? How can we Christians fully understand the cost that was paid for our salvation if we do not read about it in God's Word? This Word, and the promise of the gospel, is the foundation on which we stand secure. Its strength lies in the Cornerstone, Christ, that stone that was rejected and despised.
What the world really needs is the gospel. And it is up to us who hold the Word of God as Truth to bring it to them.