The Christ of Calvary

"He who knows not the Christ of Calvary knows not God, and he who does not thus know, knows not anything that is worth knowing." --R.E. March

It's Ash Wednesday today; the first day of Lent. (If you don't really understand what Lent is, you can read some background here.) Every year during Lent, I try to spend time reflecting on the suffering of Jesus. One book I have found particularly helpful is Contemplating the Cross by Tricia McCary Rhodes. For 40 days of readings, you walk with Jesus through his journey to the cross and think about his experience. More than anything else, this book has helped me understand and draw nearer to the one who was both God and man.

Today I'm thinking about the quote from Day 1 of the readings, which I have written above. What really struck me this time is the first part: "He who knows not the Christ of Calvary knows not God".

Who is the Christ of Calvary? In the last days before Jesus' death, we see glimpses of him that we have never seen before...weeping, afraid, lonely... but buoyed up by some inner strength through which he remains silent when mocked and tortured... and finally, asks God to forgive his murderers right before he dies. To be honest, these are not scenes I like to play in my head. It makes me nervous, uneasy, to think of Jesus crying and afraid. I'm scared to look into the depths of the evil he had to face or feel the strength of the taunts which he bore humbly. And most of all, I dare not face my own vile sin which lurks there, mixed in the cup of bitterness which he had to drink.

But in facing these images, in replaying them in my head, and in worshiping the One who was greater than the evil he faced, I find that I begin to understand who God really is. God is not an impersonal Judge taking down notes of my every action, or even a Amazon shipping agent, fulfilling my orders as I send them in. He's not even just a sweet old Father who is always ready to give me a hug and kiss my bruised knee. God experienced pain, loneliness and fear, just as we do. Instead of remaining aloof from our sin and darkness, Jesus took it and wrapped it round himself like a cloak. Man of sorrows and despised by many... yet taking the sin of the world upon his shoulders. This is the real God... and I long to know him.

The Tenants

There's an interesting thing about God's Word. It was written to tell God's story, but though many of the events have already happened, God still uses it to speak to us today.

I recently re-read The Parable of the Tenants from Matthew 21:33-46. It's an engaging story which tells of the man who rented out his vineyard to some tenants. When it came time to harvest the grapes, he sent messengers to ask the tenants for his share of the crop. But they refused to give him the fruit and beat and killed all his messengers. The owner only had one way to gain control of his vineyard. He sent his own son, since who could disrespect the man's son himself? But the tenants said to one another, "Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance." So they killed even the owner's son. Enraged, the owner came and avenged his son and rented his vineyard to other tenants who would give him his rightful share at harvest time.

The context and meaning of the story is pretty clear. Jesus is indicting the religious people of the time who failed to produce spiritual fruit -- they failed to worship God and offer up their lives to him, instead planning to kill God's own son. Jesus was saying that God would cut off all the religious people who thought they were his children and instead welcome newcomers into his family.

But how about this passage's application to us today?

I grew up in church, going to Sunday School every week. I knew all the books of the Bible in order, and if you asked me about any character in the Bible, I could tell you his or her story. I knew who Jesus was and why he came to earth and died. But in a sense, I was just like these tenants of the vineyard. I was lazy. I wanted the inheritance of "getting into heaven" but I didn't want to do the hard work of producing fruit in my life. Though I claimed to worship God's Son Jesus, did I recognize him when he came into my life and wanted to change me? Though I claimed to be a Jesus-follower, I was probably more like the religious people whom he condemned.

Jesus says that "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."

Do we Christians think enough about the opportunity that we already have to be God's children? Or do we take it for granted? Are we excited about talking to Jesus, learning from him, growing to be more like him? Or do we just go through the motions that we have come to know and be comfortable with: going to church, saying the right words, pretending that we read the Bible and pray...?

I have teens in my youth group who look just like I did as a teenager: going through the motions, so sure of heaven that they don't think about how they will serve God on earth. But I also have teens who realize what an amazing opportunity God has given them; they are excited, they are searching for God, they are grabbing for any opportunity possible to know more about him, and it is these students who will really experience God working in them in a personal way.

And you...? Which one are you? Are you the old tenant who gets thrown out of the vineyard or will you be the one who will produce fruit?