There is life in a look!
In the wilderness the children of Israel had sinned greatly and were dying of snake bites. Moses was told to make a serpent of brass and put it on a pole, and all who were bitten and looked on the serpent would live.
Jesus said, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15, KJV.
Why did Jesus compare Himself on the cross to a serpent on a pole in the wilderness? Why were the people of Israel healed by looking at a serpent of brass? Jesus was telling the world the depth of the degradation He was putting upon Himself--putting all the meanest, vilest sins in all the world on His own sinless shoulders and paying the penalties of all the broken commandments that man had committed against His law of love. He was telling the world that a look at Jesus on the cross was the only saving power from all the penalties of a broken law.
What Calvary demonstrated for all time before all the universe was the deadly results of sin. The broken law is what made Calvary necessary. The broken law was what made looking to Jesus the only cure for the hideous diseases of sin. Our spotless, perfect Saviour died as a sinner and as a substitute and sinbearer for the human race.
There is no such thing as "cheap grace." The cross reveals, in all of its horrible details, the depths of suffering that Christ was willing to endure to save us. Our redemption was secured at a great cost to heaven--not with silver or gold, but "with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:19, NIV). His love for us cost Him everything. Calvary was the most valuable gift ever given.
Isn't it strange that some would so misunderstand Calvary that they would think Jesus would discontinue His law of Ten Commandments after going through the agony of the cross to save us who had broken that law? The law was so important that it could not be laid aside. Jesus death to pay our penalty for the broken law affirms that reality. Golgotha ties together the Old Testament with the New Testament. It ties the everlasting law of Ten Commandments to the everlasting grace of His sacrifice in a way that no one can ignore. Calvary doesn't give us a license to sin and call it grace. Nailed to the cross was the same God who spoke the Decalogue.
Christ's suffering on the cross was only a portion of the pain He has felt down through the ages. As soon as sin appeared, the promise of the Saviour was given (Genesis 3:15). The presence and depth of sin--and knowing that most of His created children would be lost--was a continuous pain to the loving heart of the Son of God. The One who knows every sparrow will miss every member of His lost creation in a deeper sorrow than any human can fathom.
Jesus told the woman of Samaria, "I can give you water so that you will never thirst again." At another time He invited, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." Yet on the cross He said, "I thirst." And the cry "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" shows the utter feeling of separation and helplessness that He endured. For the first time in His existence, at Gethsemane and at Calvary, His relationship with His Father seemed to be broken. When He became sin for us, the gulf of separation was so great that He could no longer sense the Father's presence, and it broke the heart of the Son of God.
Heaven was never nearer to a lost world than when Jesus walked on the earth. The three members of the Godhead are of the same mind, the same character, and the same purpose. Jesus, the Son of God, joined Himself to humanity in order to be our Saviour. He showed us what God is like, and He showed us how to live. He showed us how to love God, by perfectly fulfilling the first table of the Decalogue. And He showed us how to love our fellow beings, by perfectly fulfilling the second table of the Decalogue.
Fulfilling the law meant honoring and obeying the law, never discarding it. The Decalogue is the reality of the nature of Christ--a transcript of His character. When Christ is in the heart, the law of God is in the heart also.
When Christ died on the cross, He gave Himself to the human race. He is bound to us with cords of love that will never be broken. But becoming one with man did not change Him from being one with God. He is our Brother and also our God.
There is life in a look . . . .
As Jesus hung on the cross, were those He had healed there?
Were those He had taught and comforted and forgiven there?
Were His disciples there to comfort Him?
In the midst of all the cursing and reviling, there was one who looked and saw the real Jesus. "Lord, remember me," he said, "when you come into your kingdom." There was only one voice from a thief to acknowledge the Son of God before He bowed His head and said, "It is finished." Yet looking to Jesus was all it took for forgiveness and a place in paradise.
There is life in a look . . . .
"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." Isaiah 45:22, KJV.
* Look to Jesus moment by moment--not distracted by worries of the past nor fearful of anticipations of what may happen in the future.
* Look to Jesus and not to others, who, no matter how good they seem to be, may disappoint or misdirect us.
* Look to Jesus and not to our own inclinations and thoughts, that can lead us astray.
* Look to Jesus, who is always the same, and not to our own hearts, which are ever changing.
* Look to Jesus for strength each day to do the tasks He asks us to do. If we are filled with His love, we will be active for Him.
* Look to Jesus, crucified, realizing we were crucified with Him.
* Look to Jesus, risen again, realizing we arose to new life with Him.
* Look to Jesus, glorified, realizing He is even now in the presence of God as our advocate--yesterday, today, and forever.
There is life in a look . . . .
When Peter attempted to walk on the water as Jesus was doing, as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, it was like walking on dry ground; but when he looked back to see the wonder on the faces of the other disciples, he fell into the depths of the sea, and only by being rescued by Jesus was he saved. It is folly to take our eyes off of Jesus for any reason.
There is life in a look . . . .
Look to Jesus who
ransoms us,
justifies us,
pardons us,
fills us with His Spirit, and
gives us peace with God.
He gives us
grace to be filled with His presence and
strength to obey His precepts.
To Him we will be forever grateful for our
forgiveness,
imparted righteousness, and
eternal life.
"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm 16:11, KJV.
