March 9th, 2020

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#Lent#9

Monday, March 9th, 2020

Jesus’ time on earth, His death and resurrection, was a series of clashes.  It is easy to see the clash on the cross of God vs Satan. Not good vs evil. That’s too shallow and cartoonish. No, the clash was greater.  It was a clash between the King of kings and the Lord of lords , the ultimate Ruler, vs the usurper, the pretender to the throne. The rebel. The loser.

The life of Jesus was also a clash. It was a clash of grace, love, mercy, freedom and new life vs the force of laws, rituals, arrogance, shackles and death. Jesus battled the enemy His entire time on earth. From birth to the grave. The religious system that wanted to bind and keep people under its thumb.

Jesus came to give freedom. He came to give life.  He did not come to make people slaves to rules and regulations, to a religious system that oppressed. I like the way Piper worded it:

The cross means freedom from the enslavement of ritual. (p.45)

You can see it in Acts 15.  You can see it in Galatians. What? The early battle Peter and the other apostles fought; the battle Paul fought against the oppressive  regime of legalism. The cross set us free. Live like it!!

The quote from John Piper is from his excellent book The Passion of Jesus Christ.