Rich Wounds

"He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.""O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

" When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs."

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good."No horror surpasses what transpired on a hill outside Jerusalem almost two millennia ago. And yet we call it "Good" Friday.

"The hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."The hour has come. All history hinges on this hour. And it is utterly terrifying. Jesus must decide: will he turn to protect his own skin and soul, or will he stay the course and embrace his Father's perfect and painful will?

"Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"With the previous three days awash in drama—Sunday's triumphal entry, Monday's temple cleansing, and Tuesday's tense exchanges, with the silencing word from Psalm 110—now Wednesday comes like the calm before the storm. This is the day Judas made a deal with the religious officials to reveal to them Jesus’ whereabouts on the next day. Judas became a betraying spy within the inner circle of Christ’s disciples. 

"The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."With each passing hour, Jesus drew nearer to thelion's jays. In just three days, he would be shamed and humiliated, tortured and executed. How did he keep going? On the inside he was singing.

" I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

"Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"Branches are cut from trees, hands are raised in praise, and the most important figure enters the great city for his final week.

"Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe."Jesus' body in which he died was not only restored to life but changed.

"After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."Imagine the moment when Jesus first sat down on heaven's throne.

"Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom."

"As they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight."Think how it would have been if the resurrected Jesus stayed on earth. There is no way a billion people could relate to him. Even a million believers, we’d be waiting in line our whole lives to speak to him. But in ascending, leaving the earth but staying human, he now can relate to all of us all at once. How? By the gift of the Holy Spirit.

"God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it."The resurrection of Christ declares even more for those of us who are joined to him by faith. Not only is he unstoppable – so are we. What is the power that is at work in us, even now – we who have faith in him?

O death, where is your victory?O death, where is your sting?The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

"You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ."Jesus had a physical heart like we all do. “On average 5,000 times each hour” and “Each beat upheld by the hand of his Father, like each beat of your heart.” But this particular heart started beating again! Do you think it was instantly, or did the Father slowly wake him up?  

"You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption."All springs from the Cross?

"God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."What makes Jesus’ cross, his spilled blood, his willing sacrifice, so compelling? What does his work achieve for us? 

"Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises."A covenant is a solemn agreement between two parties more binding than a contract. A contract is a 50-50 proposition. If you don’t do your part, I’m no longer obligated to do my part. A covenant typically signifies “I’m committing to you this particular action or truth regardless of what you do, or death is the outcome.”

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us."Propitiation means to appease wrath. It’s not a word we use every day. Not a concept we like, but a whole industry is built on propitiation! What do we bring to avert wrath?

"He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will."How is Barabbas a type for all of us, all of us who are insurrectionists against God? How does substitution work in the story of Barabbas and our story? 

"He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption."Does Jesus’ blood purchase our redemption now AND those sins that the animals were sacrificed for? What does God do with those sins that were covered with “lesser” blood than Jesus? Blood=Life

"We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and wisdom of God."Why can’t you separate the horror of the cross from the wonder of the sacrifice? We can’t fully grasp the wonder without realizing its horror. 

"He appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him."How does Jesus’ method emphasize the power of a few? What hope does that give us as disciple makers?

"All the people were hanging on his words."Jesus’ enemies accused him of “not having studied,” the way we would say, "he didn’t have a degree from a prestigious seminary.” True. But in what ways do you think Jesus did study to prepare for ministry? Did he come with the Bible already hard-wired in his brain or did he have to learn like we do? Why is that important?

"Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee."How important to Jesus was “ministry in interruption”? Doesn’t it seem like Jesus went out and expected to be interrupted, almost more than he went out with a specific target? In what ways do we struggle to be interruptible? What’s happened to our margins? What would you have to do in order to be ready for God-sent interruptions?  

How essential is it that we see Jesus weeping and angry being “deeply moved?” What does this say about his love? Isn’t it interesting that knowing Jesus wept doesn’t make him less powerful, but instead more so? What happens to us when we suppress emotions? What value is given to our emotions when we see Jesus feeling? 

"He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion."What are we being told when we can’t sleep for worry or restlessness? Or when we fear to sleep? 

"My Father is working until now, and I am working." Have you ever thought much about how hard Jesus had to work as a carpenter, a tradesman in construction? Why do you think Jesus lived in such obscurity for 30 years? How could Jesus be so unhurried in his life and ministry amidst so much human need? 

"For this purpose, I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name."We love to glorify people we love or admire: actors, athletes, writers, scientists. We don’t mind glorifying someone when it comes from such affection.  But do we fear if we glorify God, it will diminish us? As if when there’s more of God, there’s less of us?Is that true? What does it mean to glorify God? 

"He went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God."Why were his times apart for prayer so necessary to the work of Jesus?  

Join Scott Graham, Lauren Honea and Gerrit Dawson for these 10 to 12-minute roundtable discussions of "Rich Wounds: The Countless Treasures of the Life, Death and Triumph of Jesus" by our friend David Mathis. It contains 30 pithy reflections on the person and work of Christ.