6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8
Sometimes I wonder what mankind’s response to Jesus would be if he lived in our time. Would we receive Him? Rejoice over Him? Dismiss Him? Mock Him? Execute Him?
Imagine today if a man started to gain popularity who:
- Challenged much of what was considered to be conventional religion
- Proclaimed that he and God were one in the same
- Challenged some of most well know religious authorities, including clergy.
- Stated that he existed in ages long before his date of birth
- Spoke about how his body and blood were food to be consumed by others
I am guessing that as you are reading this list you are probably saying, “Yeah….I don’t think I would receive such a person too well….”
But what if such a person then started to:
- Perform miracles that were witnessed by you or those who you considered to be credible
- Spoke with an authority about God and His word in a way that caused many to marvel.
- Demonstrated acts of love, understanding and compassion that blew the doors off anything you had ever seen.
- Carried himself without displaying a shred of hypocrisy or falsehood.
Would you be more open to him? More inclined to listen to what he had to say? Would you follow him or look to have him jailed or executed?
It is interesting to ponder such things. May I suggest that there are other factors at play when we wrestle with the question as to whether or not mankind would crucify Christ today.
In the hearts of people today, do we possess the cynical, hateful, prideful, dismissive, and challenging mindset that lived in so many people of Jesus’ day? Are we people who handle things well when our wrongdoing is brought into focus? Does our society even tolerate the word “sin” today, let alone show a willingness to apply it to ourselves? Do we appreciate those who come in to shake-up our notions about how we are to live, let alone before God? Are we more or less receptive to the notion of God than those in the time of Jesus? Are our hearts and minds really any different than those of His day? Some would argue that perhaps they are worse!
Well….are you ready for my answer as to whether or not we would crucify Jesus today, or not? My answer is…..is…..
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8
The point of this whole blog is really that we will never know. Because God, in His sovereignty, ordained the exact time in which Jesus should enter the world He created. One commentator shared, “The law had operated for centuries and had served to expose the weakness and inability of man to measure up to the divine standard of righteousness. No further testing was needed. It was the right time.”
Whether this commentator’s insight into God’s timing is correct or not, we know that God, who ordains all things, executed His will at the exact moment that He deemed to be perfect for Jesus to come. I hope that you are encouraged by this. This is yet another example of God’s control over all things and that He alone knows what is best, whether we are talking about the incarnation or any other matter. Still, I must say that as I toyed with the question as to whether we, in this current age, would have Jesus executed, I didn’t like our society’s chances of responding well to Him. Would we put Him to death? It all depends who the “we” are, but you and I know that there are many in this world who delight in killing Christians and would love to do the same to Jesus if they had the chance. Let us remember our Lord’s words and with them echoing in our ears, go out as ones who don’t look to crucify Him but to glorify Him. Our present concern is not whether or not this world would look to kill Jesus, but which one of His followers they will kill next. Remember to pray for the persecuted church.
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[a] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’ – John 15: 18-25
For Him,
Rob