Sword & Trowel 2018: Issue 2
Scriptures, it glorifies him. There he accomplished what no other person
in history could have done, taking upon himself the guilt of all who would be saved. There he took the eternal weight of punishment for millions and millions of sinners, pay- ing the greatest price imaginable to purchase and save all who would be redeemed. On Calvary he suffered as a man, and survived as God. His Godhead sustained his manhood as he drank the cup of woe fully. What a glorious and godlike act! Only God could do it. Only the love of God would be willing to do it. Only the power of God could survive it. Here the attributes of God, his eternity, his love, his holiness (because only a pure and perfect substitute could atone for others) were all so evidently revealed. But while the revelation of his glory on Calvary is unappreci- ated by unbelievers, his entire glory is visible to all in the resurrection. His resurrection and ascension manifest all the divine attributes, leaving unbe- lievers without excuse. The Lord’s message to Greeks and Jews continues (verse 24): ‘Verily, verily [truly, truly], I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.’ What a picture of the purpose of his coming — I must die in order to save. Then he speaks of his followers
(verse 26). In a measure, these words may also apply to him, but chiefly to his disciples in all ages: ‘If any man [any individual, man or woman] serve me, let him follow me.’ To serve means to obey, revere and worship, but this is not our whole duty. ‘If
page 8 Seven Voices of Calvary
any man serve me, let him follow me’ — into the mission of redemption. Christ is going to Calvary to make an atonement to save sinners, and we must follow him in that mission of redemption. Here is a definition of the Christian life. Have we repented, yielded our lives to him, and truly been converted? If we have, we will be not only worshippers, but follow- ers in the vast mission. Our lives will be dedicated to making him known, corporately and personally. Ulti- mately, we follow him to glory, for he says, ‘Where I am, there shall also my servant be.’
Our lifelong priority is the mission of Christ, the Saviour’s promise ring- ing in our ears — ‘If any man serve me, him will my Father honour.’ But then the Lord declares: ‘Now
is my soul troubled,’ meaning that he is fully, completely, and deeply trou- bled. He is troubled because he can see what the redeemed would have to suffer if he does not go to Calvary. He must deliver them. He is troubled because it is going to be an indescrib- ably terrible ordeal. We are tempted to say that he is
troubled in his manhood, his hu- man nature, that shrinks with horror at Calvary. But this is not enough. Even the divine nature shrank from Calvary. All of Christ, human and divine inextricably joined, shrank from the darkness of the cross. How could the divine nature be frightened of physical sufferings? Because it had to be clothed with the foulness of the guilt of our sin, to wear that polluted clothing, and to feel the rejection and wrath of God. An experience so of- fensive to Christ’s great purity and
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