Jesus Christ is my redeemer, my savior, my only hope; my hope is in his blood and righteousness.<\/p>\n
Writing that sentence doesn\u2019t begin to capture the importance and centrality of Jesus to me. Using superlatives, listing out how important he is, making a rational argument\u2014I do all of these things as a pastor, but it still seems hard to take in.<\/p>\n
In some sense that\u2019s because it is just hard to take in. The reason it is hard is in part the difficulty of language, and in part the competing truths that surround that central one, threatening to drown it out.<\/p>\n
There are many other truths people take out of the Bible, lots of principles and propositions that are proclaimed. While not untrue, as a whole those truths can drown out the nuclear-bomb-sized truth of Jesus, the center of the gospel.<\/p>\n
I was struck last week by one particular way that Scripture highlights the main, life-altering truth. I saw it in Matthew\u2019s gospel, particularly in chapter 27. He uses something called \u201cdramatic irony.\u201d Dramatic irony occurs when the reader knows something that the characters in the story don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
What truth do we want to yell out as Judas realizes that he\u2019s \u201cbetrayed innocent blood\u201d? What central key truth is he missing as he goes and hangs himself?<\/p>\n
What do we want to shout at Pilate as he wants nothing to do with Jesus\u2019 sacrifice. \u201cMy hands are clean of this innocent blood,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
What do we shake our heads and marvel at as the crowd proclaims \u201chis blood be on us and on our children\u201d? As they cry out to crucify Jesus?<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t it all dramatic irony\u2014they don\u2019t realize that Jesus Christ is our redeemer, our savior, our only hope, and that our hope is in his blood and righteousness.<\/p>\n
Judas has betrayed innocent blood, and that innocent blood is his only hope.<\/p>\n
Pilate\u2019s hands are stained with the innocent blood of Jesus, and Christ\u2019s sacrifice is his only hope.<\/p>\n
The crowd accepts the guilt of the wrongful death of Jesus\u2014yet his wrongful death is their only hope for the removal of guilt and eternal life.<\/p>\n
Judas doesn\u2019t know this truth. He realizes he has \u201cbetrayed innocent blood.\u201d He is so guilt-stricken and sad that he goes and hangs himself. He doesn\u2019t see that the innocent blood of Jesus is actually his only hope.<\/span><\/p>\n In a world that focuses on moral improvement, social betterment, and accumulation of power and wealth, we need every tool we can get to drive into our own hearts the most important of truths: that our salvation is in Christ alone, by his blood alone, of his love alone.<\/p>\n And after seeing what the characters don\u2019t in the true story of Jesus\u2019 death, that truth is driven deeper still: Christ alone, his blood alone, his love alone, his death for mine. Hold on to the depth of what Jesus Christ has done. He\u2019s our only hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jesus Christ is my redeemer, my savior, my only hope; my hope is in his blood and righteousness. Writing that sentence doesn\u2019t begin to capture the importance and centrality of Jesus to me. Using superlatives, listing out how important he is, making a rational argument\u2014I do all of these things as a pastor, but it … Continue reading The Truth You Know<\/span>