The Great Exchange -2-

March 17, 2014 Monday Message:

(Happy St. Patrick’s Day!)

The Great Exchange

“At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned (forsaken) me?” Matt. 27:46 NLT

On the cross, this is Jesus’ final appeal to God in heaven. Notice that he’s not bemoaning the fact that Peter denied him three times or that Judas had betrayed him. His cry, in the strongest words (anaboao,) is to God alone. Why would Jesus choose that moment to quote Psalm 22?

The words are appropriate, but the Psalm is a different situation. Time after time the Israelites turned their back on God, grew far from God. When things went wrong, their perception was that God had abandoned them. But the truth was the opposite; the Israelites had forgotten about God. That was certainly not the case on the cross.

On the cross, a Holy transaction took place. God the Father regarded God the Son as if he were a sinner. As Paul later wrote in 2 Cor. 5:21 LB, “God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!” A literal translation might be, “Jesus who knew no sin, God made sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” We sing about this in the popular contemporary Christian song, “Jesus Messiah.”

It’s not our “works” that get us into heaven; it’s the work Jesus did FOR us in the Great Exchange.

Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) meets every Sunday, at 10:30am, in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This week Pastor Michael Pilla continues: Jesus – who’s Son? See you at Church!