Easter--"Was it not necessary?"

                                           "Was it not necessary?"
          One of the most fascinating parts of Easter is the story of the two disciples on the Emmaus Road walking and talking with Jesus for maybe two hours as they walked those seven miles together. "Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us along the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures?" Luke 24:32 And one of the things that Jesus said is most striking, "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" 24:26 NAS & ESV

           "Necessary" is the literal translation from the Greek, but in what sense was it "necessary" because Jesus had said, "No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." John 10:18 So Jesus’ death was completely voluntary. But His suffering was the only way that He could accomplish eternal redemption for us. And if He had been unwilling to suffer and die, we would still be lost instead of forgiven and on our way to be with Him in the glory of heaven.

        It was also the Father’s will that He should suffer and die for us and He was following His Father’s will. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all. . . . " Romans 8:31-32
He did it "for us all," to give us eternal redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life. The cross was the only way that our Holy God could be both "just and the justifier of the ungodly." The "wages of sin is death" and Jesus paid the death penalty to pay for those sins–your sins and mine. And the penalty included intense suffering.

       And what motivated Jesus? why would He go through that intense suffering? And again God in His grace has made it clear. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:9-10 God’s love and grace was why Christ suffered–and that was reason enough. Nothing good in ourselves; it was all of grace, all because of God’s grace.

         Think of what Jesus achieved in His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. He defeated Satan, hell, and the grave and obtained eternal redemption for those who turn to Him in repentance and faith, trusting in His finished work on the cross.

        Now since God achieved so much through the suffering on the cross, don’t you think He is also achieving something through your much-lesser suffering in your life? He is indeed. And we can see part, but not all, of what God is accomplishing through your suffering. He is in the process of making us more like Christ! "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18

       We have another indication that God is achieving good through our sufferings in several other verses. 1) Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
           2) "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4:16-18 We see not yet all the glory that awaits us, but the present sufferings are working for us; they are doingsomething. They are accomplishingsomething eternal and glorious–though we do not see it all yet.

      We belong to Christ so we must share in His sufferings--sufferings that will come to His body, the Church. Col. 1:24 "The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children . . . seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." Rom. 8:16-17
Jesus suffered and now He has entered His glory. We, too, shall suffer in this life. Jesus told us that, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
Easter is a time of great joy, but it came only after intense suffering. So be of good cheer, your suffering, too, will end and joy will come in the morning. So rejoice even in the midst of your sorrow or suffering.           
         And keep your eyes on Jesus, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross. Remember the glory which is yet to come.
                                                        Love in our Lord,
                                                        Pastor Burnside