In our ladies class we are studying  Jesus’ methods of teaching. We are coming to the conclusion that many of the Jews did not want to be taught by Him. They were hostile toward the Lord and simply did not want to accept him as anything other than a trouble maker and a threat to their power. They had spiritual heart issues, which can be seen in the fruit they bore. Jesus said, “By their fruit you shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).

The evidence that Jesus was the Son of God was clear, the signs and wonders He worked were undeniable, His words were truth, and He was as transparent as purified water! In fact He was the holy and pure Son of God. They could have opened their hearts, but chose not to do so.

So why did such an injustice come upon Jesus? The answer is found in God’s scheme of redemption which was planned before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5). Jesus would be betrayed, put on trial, and nailed to a cross (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22). It should be noted, however, that despite the injustices He incurred, there were precious things that flowed from the foot of the cross, all in complete harmony with the will of God:

• Love.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17).
• Grace.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:14,16-17).
• Mercy.  Paul wrote the Ephesian Christians, “among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,” even when we were dead in sin made us alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:3-5a). Paul also wrote Titus, But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3:4-6).
• Forgiveness/Redemption. Following Jesus’ crucifixion, on the day of Pentecost Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Paul wrote, In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:7-10).
• Compassion.  We see compassion for His mother and for the lost. “But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home (John 19:25-27). James, the  half-brother of Jesus, wrote, Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful (James 5:11).
• Sacrifice. Luke reported that one of the criminals who was hanged alongside Jesus “railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”  But the other thief rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus must have cared deeply for this man who did not want to die as a lost soul. And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:39-43). Paul said, For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed (1 Corinthians. 5:7), and to the Ephesians he said, “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2).
• Humility. Paul wrote about Jesus’ humble nature. “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).

Yes. Precious things, previously unattainable, flowed freely from the cross upon which Jesus was nailed. Immeasurable love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, sacrifice, humility, and much more! Paul reminds all of us as children of God that we should, Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:8). This we owe to the Son of Man who exemplified these amazing things when His blood flowed from the foot of the cross!

Today’s Verses: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another,  forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (Colossians 3:12-15).

Teresa Hampton