Cross Illuminated What Prophets Couldn't Fully See
Daily Scripture
1 Peter 1:10-12, 1 John 2:1-2
1 Peter 1
10 The prophets, who long ago foretold the grace that you’ve received, searched and explored, inquiring carefully about this salvation. 11 They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was saying when he bore witness beforehand about the suffering that would happen to Christ and the glory that would follow. They wondered what sort of person or what sort of time they were speaking about. 12 It was revealed to them that in their search they were not serving themselves but you. These things, which even angels long to examine, have now been proclaimed to you by those who brought you the good news. They did this in the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven.
1 John 2
1 My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you don’t sin. But if you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He is God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours but the sins of the whole world.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
We saw last week how much Jesus’ teaching about his death puzzled his disciples. The apostle Peter, perhaps recalling his own times of confusion, wrote that if anything that was even more true for the prophets as they delivered their usually partial and often cryptic messages. And the apostle John avoided trying to spell out all the details of how Jesus’ death worked, while emphasizing the central truth that in Jesus God dealt not just with individual sins but with “the sins of the whole world.”
- 1 John 2:2 used a word (hilasmos) that Greeks used for sacrifices to appease angry pagan gods. John instead used it to describe what God did for us: “The Greek translation of the Old Testament… uses it for “sin offering,” or “atoning sacrifice” (Ezekiel 44:27, Numbers 5:8)…. in Hebrew thought it is also possible (as never among the Greeks) that God performs the action.” * How did Jesus make it plain that forgiveness was God’s wish all along (cf. John 14:9)?
- “God’s future has been displayed, as we saw, in and as his son, Jesus. But Jesus is, of course, the one who died on the cross; and from the very earliest days of Christian faith, his followers believed that his death had been the very thing the world had been waiting for. It was the ultimate sacrifice…. that blood, that sacrificial death, that God-life given on our behalf and in our place, is available for all who ‘walk in the light’.” ** Have you claimed the new life Jesus made available for you?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you were a healer whether the illness and its healing were physical or spiritual. I sometimes need both, and so does the world around me. I thank you for your healing sacrifice. Amen.
GPS Insights
Lydia Kim
Lydia Kim serves as a pastor of Connection and Care at Resurrection Leawood. An avid believer that growing in faith pairs well with fellowship and food, she is always ready for recommendations on local restaurants and coffee shops.
When my friend took his life in college, I replayed the last few moments that we spent together for weeks. I questioned every comment, every look, and every action. I wondered: if I had done something different, maybe he’d still be alive?
Months later, I found myself sitting in my campus minister’s office after a friend suggested I talk to someone. I was failing school, isolating myself, and struggling emotionally and spiritually. I couldn’t see outside of the guilt and loss I felt, and I was confused by what people of faith said about my friend’s death.
Those conversations with my campus minister shed light on the message of God’s love for us and produced hope. They helped me to understand that our mistakes are never too big for God, and God’s love is more than enough. I was taught to believe that the cross was just one thing–punishment for my sins. However, those conversations helped me hear the message that the cross was far more complex than I thought or even the prophets understood. I realized that God’s grace was so extraordinary that the Good News was much more extravagant than I had ever imagined. That helped me start the healing process, and I hope the same for you–that the Spirit would illuminate for you what you need to hear from the cross this week, and you would be reminded of Christ’s love and forgiveness.
© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* C. Haas, M. De Jonge, J. L. Swellengrebel, A Handbook on the First Letter of John. New York: United Bible Societies, 1972, p. 36.
** Wright, N. T., Early Christian Letters for Everyone (The New Testament for Everyone) (p. 147). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
