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A holy calling
2 Timothy 1:8-9
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.
If we are not willing to suffer for the gospel, then we don’t really understand that we have been chosen by God for salvation. We didn’t earn our way into this salvation by our own good works. God didn’t save us because we were more righteous than other people. Rather, he chose us for salvation based on “his own purpose and grace”—his eternal purpose and the grace that he had granted to us before time itself began (v. 9).
Because we haven’t earned our salvation, we are not to respond as hired help for the kingdom of God. Rather, we should be grateful to be chosen for salvation—an inestimable blessing that we never would have chosen on our own. In light of this holy calling, I need to consider how to change my life for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Self-preservation
2 Timothy 1:6-7
6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
I’m tempted a lot to be concerned with self-preservation—keeping myself looking good in front of others while preventing pain or sorrow in my life. This is an attitude of fear, and it was something that Timothy struggled with a great deal. For the sake of the gospel, we must be willing to endure hardship and suffering—to count the cost and answer the call to arms given to us by Christ our Captain. We are to forget about our own interests, stepping out in “power and love and self-control” (v. 7), our proper response to our “holy calling” (v. 9). This response is encouraged and enabled by God himself (v. 7).
How much is our faith costing us? In my case, not very much. That needs to change.
The King of the Jews
Throughout His ministry on the earth, Jesus chose to reveal who He really was only to a select few people. He hid the truth to the public, speaking in parables so that “Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand” (Luke 8:10). He silenced demons who identified Him as the Son of God, and He did not refer to Himself as the Messiah except in indirect ways (as in Matthew 11:2-6). The truth was not revealed until He was crucified:
John 19:19-20
19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.
The moment when Jesus was finally announced as the King of the Jews — the descendant of David who was to rule Israel as its Messiah — was the time of His greatest suffering and shame. How painfully ironic it must have been to His followers to see the truth finally revealed, plain as day, broadcast in many languages to all who passed by…but its Author mocked and crucified. They didn’t realize how important it was for Jesus to reveal Himself as the Suffering Servant from Isaiah — that He had come to bleed and die for the sin of the world. His suffering did not disqualify Him from kingship; rather, it was the mark of His kingship and reign over all the earth.
UPDATE July 3: It just occurred to me that I totally forgot about the Triumphal Entry, where people were calling out, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13). So despite what I said above, Jesus was announced as King and Messiah before the cross. However, the inscription on the cross still shows the link between His suffering and His kingship.
Comfort or death
Luke presents a more well-rounded picture of Jesus’ crucifixion than Matthew and Mark because he describes not only the people who persecuted Him, but also the people who mourned for Him. Luke records that “there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him” as He carried His cross (23:27). There is also more detail about the two thieves who were crucified on either side of Jesus; Matthew and Mark don’t mention that one of them changed his mind and defended Jesus. Finally, after Christ’s death, Luke writes that “all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts” (23:48).
However, the onlookers’ sympathy and sorrow did not translate into action. “The people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!’” (Luke 23:35). The people stood silently and watched as Jesus was tormented by His enemies. They were sad to see the Christ suffer but not willing to act in response. The only one — the only one — to speak up for Jesus was the miserable thief crucified next to Him.
This cuts me to the heart because I see myself among the crowds. I watch safely from the comfort of my easy life as the kingdom of God is advanced by blood and tears. I hate the comfort that surrounds me and to which I cling. I hate the cold and gray deadness my heart often feels toward my crucified Lord.
Last weekend, while I was down in Washington, D.C., I stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and reflected on how I would react if God brought the United States of America to an end. I was saddened to find that the thing which worried me the most was not an end to the beautiful things of our nation — freedom, equality, and justice — but an end to the comfort and ease that it affords. I cling fiercely to the lethargic state of mind that I hate so much.
Jesus calls us to suffer — to identify with Him. But I can barely convince myself to kneel down in prayer and worship Him each day. I say this with a great deal of shame. May God have mercy on me, and like the dying thief, may I be crucified with my Savior.
Embracing the cross
On Saturday, while I was driving around town, the hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee” came on my car stereo. (Note: mute your speakers before clicking the link.) The opening lines fit in really well with what I’ve been learning from Matthew’s account of Jesus’ crucifixion:
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
That second line is amazing! “Even though it be a cross that raiseth me….” What a terrifying thing to say! I don’t think I have the courage to say, “I want to be nearer to you, Lord…even if it means being crucified.” Of course, we as Christians have been “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20) and are called to die every day to the world and our own sinful desires.
Jesus remained on the cross as an example to us all. He did not give up in the face of unspeakable pain, but remained there to bear our sins. So for our example, we look to Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). If Jesus was willing to suffer for the glory of God, how much more are we called to do so as His creatures.
The song “Embrace the Cross” reminds us that, like Jesus, we see hope in our suffering:
An empty tomb
Concludes Golgotha’s sorrow
Endure then till tomorrow
Your cross of suffering
Embrace the cross
Embrace the cross
The cross of Jesus
