Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
How did Jesus die? The Muslims say He died broken and defeated, and some Christians apparently agree. Yes, He experienced the unspeakable horror that His Father had forsaken Him forever: "My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" He was as low in despair as a common sinner. For One who had always lived in the sunshine of His Father's acceptance, this indeed was hell.
Yes, never was a human face so contorted with agony, "His visage ... so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men" (Isa. 52:14). The horror of an eternal hell of darkness, separation from God, from life, from heaven, from His fellow mankind, produced such mental and spiritual agony that He hardly felt the physical pain of the Roman crucifixion. Never had any human (or divine One) felt the full burden of the world's total accumulated guilt.
Yes, the death on the cross was pure, unmitigated hell. Neither Matthew, Mark, Luke, nor John give us a hint of any light penetrating that darkness, other than the repentant thief's prayer. All they say is, "They crucified Him," which meant--a Roman crucifixion. Hell itself.
But wait a moment. Scholars agree that Psalm 22 is a transcript of the prayer that Jesus prayed on His cross, from the moment the darkness enveloped the land (and His soul!) to when He breathed His last.
There in the middle of verse 21, the Holy Spirit reveals that a glorious change came: "Thou hast heard Me from the horns of the wild, treacherous African buffalo" (margin). In His last extremity, feeling tossed on those vicious horns, the darkness of His soul is lifted. "You have heard Me!" You have not forsaken Me! You have answered My cry! My faith has penetrated this impenetrable darkness of hell. I have triumphed! The great controversy with Satan is won!
From then on Psalm 22 is a paean of praise. His soul is filled with delight--not in anticipating His own resurrection and return to glory, no. He is dying the second death "for every man" (Heb. 2:9), the death in which there is no personal glory, no egocentric hope. But what makes Him so happy is that He has won the victory for us: "YOUR heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord" (vss. 26, 27).
Psalm 22 closes with a glorious cry of eternal victory--one Hebrew word that proclaims, "It is finished." A light like the sun shines in His face. From His broken, crucified human larynx, like a trumpet comes His shout of victory that shakes heaven and earth. Then He bowed His head, and died. The Victor of eternity.
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 27, 2004.
Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at: http://1888message.org/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: dailybread@1888message.org
------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
How did Jesus die? The Muslims say He died broken and defeated, and some Christians apparently agree. Yes, He experienced the unspeakable horror that His Father had forsaken Him forever: "My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" He was as low in despair as a common sinner. For One who had always lived in the sunshine of His Father's acceptance, this indeed was hell.
Yes, never was a human face so contorted with agony, "His visage ... so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men" (Isa. 52:14). The horror of an eternal hell of darkness, separation from God, from life, from heaven, from His fellow mankind, produced such mental and spiritual agony that He hardly felt the physical pain of the Roman crucifixion. Never had any human (or divine One) felt the full burden of the world's total accumulated guilt.
Yes, the death on the cross was pure, unmitigated hell. Neither Matthew, Mark, Luke, nor John give us a hint of any light penetrating that darkness, other than the repentant thief's prayer. All they say is, "They crucified Him," which meant--a Roman crucifixion. Hell itself.
But wait a moment. Scholars agree that Psalm 22 is a transcript of the prayer that Jesus prayed on His cross, from the moment the darkness enveloped the land (and His soul!) to when He breathed His last.
There in the middle of verse 21, the Holy Spirit reveals that a glorious change came: "Thou hast heard Me from the horns of the wild, treacherous African buffalo" (margin). In His last extremity, feeling tossed on those vicious horns, the darkness of His soul is lifted. "You have heard Me!" You have not forsaken Me! You have answered My cry! My faith has penetrated this impenetrable darkness of hell. I have triumphed! The great controversy with Satan is won!
From then on Psalm 22 is a paean of praise. His soul is filled with delight--not in anticipating His own resurrection and return to glory, no. He is dying the second death "for every man" (Heb. 2:9), the death in which there is no personal glory, no egocentric hope. But what makes Him so happy is that He has won the victory for us: "YOUR heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord" (vss. 26, 27).
Psalm 22 closes with a glorious cry of eternal victory--one Hebrew word that proclaims, "It is finished." A light like the sun shines in His face. From His broken, crucified human larynx, like a trumpet comes His shout of victory that shakes heaven and earth. Then He bowed His head, and died. The Victor of eternity.
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 27, 2004.
Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at: http://1888message.org/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: dailybread@1888message.org
------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
