Meditating on the Cross

It is the week before Easter.  I have been reading Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, a wonderful little book edited by Nancy Guthrie and containing parts of sermons and works of 25 classic theologians and contemporary communicators.  These meditations focus on the sacrifice Christ made on the cross.  I have been overwhelmed in my reading, once again, knowing the sacrifice my Savior made for me on the cross

One of the most meaningful works to me was, "He set His Face to Go to Jerusalem" by John Piper. Luke 9:51 tells us, "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem." This is Luke's theme for the next 10 chapters.  In chapter 19 we read of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and the multitude that greeted him, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luke 19:37-38) They all thought they had their Messiah but their understanding of what this meant certainly missed the mark at this time. Piper says, "...if Jesus had taken his throne on that first day of palms, none of us would ever be robed in white or waving palms of praise in the age to come. There had to be the cross, and that is what the disciples had not yet understood."

He goes on to say that "the misunderstanding of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem results in a misunderstanding of the meaning of discipleship. This is why it is important for us to see, lest we make the same mistake." We know that when Jesus "set his face to go to Jerusalem", it had a very different meaning for him than it did for his disciples. They had great expectations of what it would mean for Jesus to reign on an earthly throne. For Jesus, the destination of Jerusalem meant certain death.

Piper says, "the surprise about Jesus the Messiah is that he came to live a life of sacrificial, dying service before he comes a second time to reign in glory. And the surprise about discipleship is that it demands a life of sacrificial, dying service before we can reign with Christ in glory... When Jesus set his face to walk the Calvary road, he was not merely taking our place; he was setting our pattern. He is substitute and pace setter."