This blog has moved!!!

As a final reminder this blog will no longer be posting Pastor Frasier's weekly devotionals. Pastor Frasier has begun his own blog to distribute his weekly thoughts on Scripture. You will be able to follow him at wmf14227.blogspot.com from the Mark series on.

This site will remain open as an archive of his older posts for those whom would like to read the other devotionals.

Godspeed,
Wesley

Mark 16 - 2012.06.07

ALONE! (III)

“So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” — Mark 16:19

There is much in this chapter that would lend itself to our purpose and is worthy of our meditation, but there is here one more aspect of the Savior’s “alone-ness” that seems to surpass them all, so we continue with that theme and on this note conclude our quest for “nuggets” in the gospel of Mark.

As we follow the Son of God through chapters 14 and 15 we are taken to the depths of His solitary journey, one He made “alone” because there were in all creation no others who could make it with Him. No one else was qualified, no one else had anything to contribute to the task He was undertaking. He, alone, endured the cross, “despising the shame” and the desperate solitude it required.

But, the writer of Hebrews concurs with the author of this gospel: Having “[despised] the shame, [He is] set down at the right hand of the throne of God [Heb. 12:2].” In our emphasis in chapters 14 and 15, He is alone in what has all the appearance of tragedy. Emerging from the tomb and whatever transpired in the three days prior, the Son of God experiences a new solitariness; a solitary triumph that has no parallel in earth or heaven. He, alone, sits “at the right hand of the Majesty on high [Heb. 1:3],” occupying as “the last Adam” the highest position in earth or heaven.

Condescending to become “sin for us” in order to save us from our sins, He is now and forever “exalted” on high, having conquered at an immeasurable price sin and death, and hell and its grand master. Now—

“…we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man [Heb. 2:9].”

ALONE

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage [Heb. 2:14]”

ALONE

The triumphant consequence is best described by the Spirit inspired apostle: 

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father [Phil. 2:8-11].”

ALONE!!

We bring nothing but faith to our salvation, and even that is “the gift of God!” (Cf. Eph. 2:8) Our “religion,” our “good works,” contribute not one iota to our salvation. We have nothing to bring to the cross but the ragged ruins of our old sin nature, the refuse inherited from of the first Adam and confirmed by our own sin and rebellion. Eternal life is not earned nor obtained by any merit whatsoever on our part. It flows down from the “river of life” He opened for us when He volunteered for Calvary—alone!

What can you and I return for “so great salvation?” We can trust Him for the redemption He paid so much to provide. And, by the same grace that saves us, we can obey His will, as revealed in His word, to make our lives a thank-offering for the incredible journey He made to set us free. And, like the “four and twenty elders,” let us “fall down before Him that [sits] on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, saying, Thou art worthy, O LORD, to receive glory and honor and power…” (Rev. 4:10-11)

Lifted up was He to die;

“It is finished!” was His cry;

Now in Heav’n exalted high.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

"Pastor" Frasier

Mark 15 - 2012.06.30

ALONE (II)

“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” —Mark 15:34

The most incomprehensible aspect of the crucifixion of The Son of God is the ultimate “alone-ness” defined in this anguished cry from the cross. The Son of God, God forsaken!!

Forsaken by His friends and scorned and spit upon by His enemies, He had anticipated and prepared for, but this abandonment wrings a cry of pain beyond compare. There has been no suffering like it in the history of the universe. It represents the rupture of the most intimate relationship, that had endured for eternity past.

There is a passage of scripture, admittedly somewhat enigmatic, that touches upon it:

“The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him…”

[Proverbs 8:22-30]

Because of the feminine pronoun assigned to wisdom in this chapter, it is often applied to the Holy Spirit. That peculiarity notwithstanding, I am convinced that the passage quoted above belongs to the Son of God Who “of God is made unto us wisdom… [I Cor. 1:30 - see also 1:24] From that perspective we have a glimpse into that everlasting fellowship which pertained between the Father and the Son; the Savior speaks, “I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.”

Against that backdrop the cry from the cross reveals something of the depth of His grief and an aspect of His pain and suffering against which the physical sufferings of the crucifixion pale to insignificance. And we must not overlook the fact that though we are given no record of it, the suffering of he Father was no less. This is infinite grief.

Nothing more vividly illustrates the nature of sin than this! It is the price God had to pay, and was willing to pay, in order to rescue sinners from the torments of an everlasting hell and preserve at the same time His integrity as a righteous God. Few among us regard sin with such horror. That is because no one understands what takes place when rebellious man insults the character of an infinitely holy God. The interface between the finite and the infinite is beyond the comprehension of any of us, and beyond the concern of most.

Alone, Christ met the challenge, and as a result, there is hope for the lost.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

[Romans 3:23-26]

Jesus—alone—on the cross for me! “Oh to grace, how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be. Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to me!” The side of eternity, we will never grasp the full impact of this incredible fact, but perhaps meditating on it under this single word, “alone,” will move us a little in the right direction.

"Pastor" Frasier

 

Blog Move

Pastor Frasier has begun his own blog to distribute his weekly thoughts on Scripture. You will be able to follow him at wmf14227.blogspot.com from the Mark series on.

This site will remain open as an archive of his older posts. The complete Mark series will be our last new posts to this site.

Godspeed,
Wesley