The Son Of God

“So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.’”

John 8:28-29 (NLT) 

Jesus tells the people that when He dies on the cross they will see that He is who He says He is. The earthquake, the darkness, the curtain being torn… the sign on the cross…“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”…. the Son of God being exalted and fulfilling His purpose on earth. “But our High Priest offered himself to God as one sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of highest honour at God’s right hand.” (Hebrews 10:12). These scriptures all tell us who He really is. 

I’m sure the Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus on the cross really didn’t know that they were killing the Son of God. More than that, I am sure that they didn’t know they were allowing the sin of the world to be placed on the only pure and sinless thing in all creation, and causing Him to be a curse. We read in Galatians 3:13, “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’” 

Believe it or not, we all were at that point at one time or another. We didn’t know the Son of God and we didn’t know of His glory. We may have heard the name and knew some stories but we never cherished His name or those stories as we do now. In Luke 23:34 we see something that may now appall us, but before we knew the glory of God this would have been just another story. “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.’ And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.” (Luke 23:34). One man’s rags are another mans riches, simply because one man knows something the other man doesn’t.

 At one point or another we have seen, or longed to see, who Christ really is and when that happens we can’t help but acknowledge that He is who He says He is. We see reference to an encounter like that in Mark 15:39, “When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, ‘This man truly was the Son of God!’” This Roman officer, I guarantee, never forgot the feeling inside him when he realised he was face to face with the Son of God. 

I want to know who God really is more and more every day. The angels cry HOLY, and I want my life to exemplify the same thing, that God is a holy God. My life is not my own and my existence is for no other reason than to bring glory to God. That was Christ’s reason for coming to earth and the Word of God instructs us to be Christ-like (Ephesians 5:2). 

Prayer

Father, use every means possible to make me more like Jesus.

Amen

Study by Fraser Murdoch