I am not talking about the
character or the man who was nailed to the cross. I am talking about the character of the man
on the cross. This event that we
celebrate this weekend, Easter, is one that we cannot over look. If we believe what God says and do what He
has done, we will have some of the same results, and we will have peace.
The character of the man
on the cross is something that we can talk about in many different ways and in
lots of veins. But His character is
clear and something that we have heard, seen and pondered before.
This man was full of love and understanding.
Follow the entire story,
from His birth to his resurrection, and you see the character of God coming
through His son. That is the character
of loving people. Jesus went out of His
way to show compassion and understanding in the middle of pain, struggle and
hypocrisy.
Luke 23:34 NLT
Jesus said,
“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by
throwing dice.
This was demonstrated insight in dealing with another
man.
If we were at the
crucifixion of Jesus and heard these criminals speak to Jesus, we would either
be very upset or in deep mourning. Jesus
said to the second man that he would be with Jesus that day. Jesus could see through all the pain to the
man’s heart.
Luke 23:41-43
NLT
We
deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember
me when you come into your Kingdom.” 43 And
Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This man was a son.
Jesus is God’s son, but He
was also the son of Mary who was there when He was murdered. His heart went out to His mom. This is one more instance of the humanity of
our Savior. He loves His mom.
John 19:26-27
NLT
When Jesus
saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her,
“Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And
he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple
took her into his home.
This man was God in the flesh, living with purpose.
For all three years of
Jesus’ earthly ministry He told people that what He said and did was directly
related to what His heavenly father told Him to do and to say. He taught us that a connection to the father
is vital to all of life.
Mark 15:34 NLT
Then at
three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why
have you abandoned me?”
This man is our Savior and our example.
I cannot imagine what it
must have been like to watch Jesus die on the cross. It was a moving experience. Some people were mourning while others were
pleased with His death. Yet it is true
that people learned the truth of God as they saw Jesus and followed His
example.
Matthew 27:54
NLT
The Roman
officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the
earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of
God!”
It is Friday. It is the day that we remember the cross of
our Savior. But Sunday is coming. The resurrection of our Savior will be
celebrated because it is a reality.
The
character of the man on the cross was the character of God. It is also the character that we are to
emulate every day!
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