Occasionally I am called to do the communion introductory delivery. I try to keep it simple. This time however, I was a bit opportunistic and thought I’d say something about my understanding of Jesus’ death on the cross and its relationship with physical healing.
Jesus came into the world to save us. Jesus died in our place on the cross. He suffered and died, for you and I. Jesus is God. He created life. Death is repugnant to Him. Yet He submitted and He was obedient to the Father. His obedience to the Father is a constant theme during His time as a Man in the middle-east early last century. His obedience wasn’t a half measure, wavering sort. It was complete obedience – even to the point of death. Without this obedience, you and I would have remained condemned to eternal death as sinners.
We were condemned to eternal death because we were stricken with this disease called sin. The wages of this disease is eternal death. This disease called sin condemned us to eternal death. Jesus suffered so that we may be healed of this disease. By His stripes, we are healed of this disease called sin. We need not die for it anymore. There is no condemnation in Christ. In Him, we are victorious. We are victorious over sin. By His death on the cross, you and I have been healed of this disease called sin and can now live, just as Jesus lives. We can now live in victory over sin because Jesus has overcome and healed us of this disease.
Pastor Rick Warren tells us that the purpose of life is to prepare for eternity. In that sense therefore, God’s concern for us is mainly for our eternal well being. He has taken care of that by healing us of the disease which threatens our eternal well being. By His stripes, we are healed of the disease which threatens our eternity.
God wants to heal us too of our present diseases of course. Our call however is to cast our eyes on eternity and for that He has promised and in fact delivered the required healing.
Obedience requires discipline and a complete focus on God. It is a staple diet which is required for our relationship with God to grow. It is an unmistakable principle which runs right through every book of the Bible. I am now reading the book of Exodus and the requirement for total obedience runs thick through that book. In the long run, obedience may not quite be the light and sound show some of us have come to expect from a victorious Christian life. It can mean simply putting our heads down, hands on plough and eyes focused on Him. It can be a long haul with no tangible outcomes. No fuss, no sparks. Just plain and simple obedience. It can seem on the surface that it is not a victorious Christian life and it may seem like we need to “step up” to the next level. It can however, be the most honorable task a faithful servant of God can undertake. Obedience to God must be unconditional, just as Jesus’ obedience was. Obedience to God means we trust His sovereignty over all else. Technical know-how’s cannot – must not – replace faithful obedience to our sovereign God.
Obedience was how Jesus fulfilled the Father’s redemptive plans. He obeyed the will of God the Father and died on the cross for your sins and my sins. Obedience too, is how we are to prepare for eternity. That is how we keep our eyes on Jesus, who has healed us of our infirmities which threatens our eternity. He has healed us of this disease called sin, by being obedient to God. Let us seek to be obedient to Him, and wait on Him, and prepare for our eternity.
Let us now remember His death for our sins, by obeying His command to break bread together. Let us give thanks together. Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your gift of redemption in and through Jesus, your only begotten Son. We thank you for His obedience. We thank you for healing us of our disease of sin. We ask that you will teach us to obey just as He obeyed. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
In Matthew 26, it says in verse 26:
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."
Let us eat the bread together to remember Jesus’ obedience on the cross.
Verse 27 – Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Let us now drink from the cup and accept the shedding of Jesus blood on the cross for our sin. May God bless us all.
Ante 