User Tools

Site Tools


jn_en_2010_11_19

2010_11_19_t1.jpg

2010_11_19_t2.jpg

2010_11_19_t3.jpg

Deutsche Version | Wiki Start | Topics Collection ii

What Jesus did ...

Friday, Nov 19, 2010. Reading Ephesians we have studied a passage yesterday which talked about the people of Israel and the other nations, and about what Jesus did for both of them. This is a breathtaking story, with various strands and branches. What is going on? First, let us look at the text again:

14 He has made peace between us Israelites and you non-Israelites.

2010_11_19.jpg

By the suffering he endured in his body

, he made us into one group of people and broke down the “wall” that was between us. 15

2010_11_19_2.jpg

He abolished the rules and commandments

, in order to make our two groups (i.e. Israelites and non-Israelites) into one group - in this way making peace between us. 16 The effect of him dying for us - his body being nailed to a cross - was to bring both groups into friendship with God. In this way he killed the hostile attitude the two groups had for each other. 17 He brought the message of peace both to you non-Israelites who were a long way from God4 and also to us Israelites who were closer to God. (Ephesians 2: 14-17)

Cruel things bringing peace with God …

The key point here is that there are very cruel things which were done to Jesus. He suffered. He was nailed to a cross. And he died. All this is cruel. It is not an easy path. And it mirrors the suffering of mankind. It mirrors injustice. It mirrors violence. It mirrors the ignorance we have in the middle of our societies.

It is the death of Jesus at the cross, which brings the peace we all need. That is the breathtaking and even nearly unbelievable story of the New Testament. Jesus came to show God's character, and to die for those he loved. He came to fulfill the rules and commandments which mirror God's justice, to make justice by his death. In this, we are justified, and by faith we enter the kingdom of heaven. Who believes in him has passed judgment.

Justice for you …

What do you think about this special message of peace, about the biblical message? It is a peace which finds its origin in Jesus' death. It is a deep peace, since this death provides the basis of a life of freedom, a life which fully finds into “being a child” of the Lord. It is a life which knows that we cannot earn our way into heaven. We cannot be as just as the Holy God is by ourselves. But we can when we believe in Jesus, since his justice, given to us in his death, applies completely, fully, for ever.

The bible expresses the invitation to enter faith. It invites us to explore the justice which Jesus gives. It invites us to come to the Lord and live with him, as a child. He invites us also, of course, to grow into responsible individuals, living faith on the basis of knowledge, knowing him! ... more texts

jn_en_2010_11_19.txt · Last modified: 2017/06/18 16:48 by 127.0.0.1