The lowering of the Lord

Wednesday April 14, 2021

The lowering of the Lord

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so too must the Son of man be lifted up so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. John 3: 13-15

The great Creator God did not impose himself in his creation. He gave man the freedom to obey him or not. But this one disobeyed. Therefore, sin takes him away from God and necessitates the coming of Jesus into the world for his salvation.

In the face of the downfall of man, God becomes man in the person of Jesus. He comes from heaven to speak to humanity of the God of grace and of truth. Throughout his life on earth, he will not cease to reveal God through his behavior, his actions and his teaching. None other than him could do it, for he came from heaven. Yet this revelation of truth has not been received into the world.

But to save the lost creature, it took more than his teaching. Divine justice, flouted by the repeated sins of man, necessitated the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus, the Son of God become man, was to suffer the curse of God in our place, for he who is hanged is a curse of God (Deuteronomy 21:23). Jesus himself compared himself to the serpent, a cursed animal, fixed on a pole in the desert (Numbers 21: 8). The pole evokes the cross on which Jesus was placed. He was sinless and should never have been punished, but he stooped down to take our place and receive the judgment we deserved. Now a man has only to look with faith on Jesus to find deliverance from his guilt and judgment, and obtain eternal life.

These facts allow us to understand a little what sin is in the eyes of God, but also they fill us with adoration before the love he has for his creature : God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Source (Pleasing the Lord)