Reconciled

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation… For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Colossians 1:13-14, 19-20

As those who are born in Adam, with original sin, we are not automatically in harmony with God, but are by nature His enemies. This is why Jesus had to come and die – in order to reconcile us with the holy God of heaven. We were at odds with God, opposed to Him, guilty of treason and rebellion and deserving condemnation and death. We cannot appreciate the redeeming work of Jesus until we realize the depths of our sin and the extent of our alienation from God.

“Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms.”

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

If all we needed was a little instruction and training, Jesus could have remained a rabbinical teacher – He did not need to die on a cross; He did not need to suffer the full wrath of God.

As He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, what was “the cup” that Jesus dreaded to drink?

“Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.’”

Jeremiah 25:15-16

“Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.”

Isaiah 51:17

“But it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.”

Psalm 75:7-8

“If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”

Revelation 14:9-10

The wine goblet that people use for feasting and self-indulgence became a biblical symbol for the fullness of God’s just wrath, collected and held, waiting to be poured out in judgment. What men think to drink for their own pleasure will be, in the end, their doom. By gaining the world, they forfeit their souls.

On the cross, Jesus drank the cup of God’s righteous fury for you. And for me. The foaming goblet reserved for your just torment, that would fill you on the inside and torment your soul forever – that is what Jesus took into Himself that afternoon on calvary. The earth shook. The light of the sun was blotted out.

God the Father treated His only Son as a traitor, as a rebel, as a worker of every kind of evil and injustice. The Father of Justice enacted justice on Jesus that day to the point that Jesus cried out in unimaginable agony, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

That was the price of our reconciliation.

This holy weekend as we contemplate Good Friday, Silent Saturday and Resurrection Sunday – let’s remember where we were and who we were when Jesus found us. And let’s remember the cost of our salvation and the unbelievable victory of Jesus when He walked out of that tomb.

You and I will not drink the cup of judgment because we are privileged instead to drink the cup of redemption – the new covenant in Jesus’ blood. Jesus drank the cup of judgment so we could celebrate His redeeming love forever.