The Story of Transformation: Part 2

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7

But God.

No two words have ever been as sweet to the soul as these. No two words have had such an impact on the universe as these.

The Savior. Wholly, completely God. He was sent to Earth as righteousness. He is righteousness. He was right and justified in all things. His feet touched the ground of the Earth He created in perfect Holiness. A holiness no one can ever attain. His sacred hands touched human flesh. God’s glory overwhelmed, it is too much for even the most righteous man to see (Exodus 33:12-23). His perfection is unfathomable. Truly good in every thought, word, and deed. God was sinless. Sin was far from Him, and thus the wall between us and His perfection. He came down to us, in all His perfection.

The Savior, wholly God, and wholly man. Cloaked in the flesh and blood of humans, God came to Earth as the Savior, Jesus. God, whom no man has seen and no imagination has described, came as a lowly human. Jesus, His Son, had a beating heart in His chest. He had lungs that breathed the oxygen of the dark world. He had a stomach that ached, and flesh that could bleed. The perfect God became an imperfect human. The Savior came as flesh, not just in appearance. Jesus felt every emotion, pain, bruise, hunger, thirst, and struggle that this sin filled world experiences daily. When 7:00 p.m. rolled around, His stomach grumbled with hunger. As Jesus stood in the shop building tables and chairs with his father, He felt the ache in His lower back from bending over. When something went wrong, He felt frustration. When the sun beat down upon his face, salty drops of sweat formed on His head. He was human just as you and I.

Jesus, our Savior, was outwardly an ordinary man and inwardly a magnificent and holy God. He was light and love. Jesus was a Light in the world that none had seen before, but a Light that all ached and longed for. His love was for all, through all, and in all. Never once did one meet Him and not experience His gentle compassion.

When Jesus grew up, He had a duty to fulfill. He was not sent to merely be a medical marvel, but sent to fulfill all of His Father’s Will. He was not sent to earth to be a carpenter, but so much more. When that little baby born in a stable grew up, so did the burden of His job.

The beginning was marvelous. The time had come, and He had called His disciples. Jesus began to do wonderous things. He healed countless people with a single word or single touch. Some of those people who faced sickness and disease boldly approached the Savior. Full of faith they asked for wholeness from a man they believed was God, the Messiah. Others timidly walked by, afraid to bother the man who was to be the King of the Jews. They touched the edge of His garment, not realizing He already knew their hearts and their faith, but receiving mercy just the same. Jesus worked for three years, giving sight to the blind and speaking sound into the deaf. The Gospels are overflowing with stories of the great power Jesus held in His hand. He cast out demons and commanded them to leave the poor souls plagued by them. He told the dead and decaying to rise up and walk, breathing new life into their breathless lungs.

When the Savior of the world was not busy healing those with faith in Who He was, He taught them the things of Heaven. Some sermons were parables that few understood. Other times He spoke clearly, boldly, and harshly. The truth was nothing to shy away from. He knew that lives were at stake, and He spoke the Father’s will and commands. He spoke of old Scriptures, and He fulfilled prophecies some had forgotten and others awaited.

Through all, healing and teaching, Jesus the Savior loved like no other. His Father had sent Him out of love for this dark, ugly world, and Jesus spoke that love. He accepted all who came to him. Prostitutes, thieves, the lame, the possessed, the poor, the rich. He defended the adulteress in love. He blessed the children in love. His was not a temporary love, but one that endures and is everlasting. To this day, the love that Jesus showed and gave is continually spread. Every inch of His human existence was love.

Jesus’ duty was to heal and teach and love. He carried a heavier burden still, the burden of death. Not the death we know today, the eventual death we all face. Jesus faced the death to end all deaths. A death that conquered sin. A death that made Him---the Holy, perfect God---a sinner. When He came to earth. He knew it was his fate. But as that night came, He sought an escape. The crushing weight of the knowledge of what was to come was almost too much. He begged His Father.

“saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:42.

The difficulty of His duty was overwhelming, nevertheless He submitted to the Father’s Will, remembering the great love He had for the wicked sinners of the world.

If only it was death the Savior had to face. It was more. It was painful and humiliating.

The wounds on His back gushed blood. The first blow was more than He could bear, yet they continued with 38 more strikes with the cat of nine tails. With every move He felt the the glass and thorns that remained in His flesh. (John 19:1).

He was beaten, mocked, and scorned. His cheek stung from the hand that slapped his face. His heart ached from the betrayal and abandonment of His disciples. A crown made from thorns was shoved onto His scalp. It dug into His flesh and blood dripped down His face as they yelled “Hail, King of the Jews!” (Matthew 27:27-29).

If only they knew that they beat the God who created them. They mocked the God who could have ended their life in less than a second.

Finally. If it wasn’t enough already, they laid the heavy cross on His back and watched Him struggle to the Place of the Skull, Golgatha. When He finally made it up the hill, they stripped him naked. They laid him down and drove long, thick nails through His wrists and feet. They left Him to hang in agony until He could breathe no longer (Matthew 27:31-44).

From the cross, bleeding and in more pain than any could imagine, Jesus called to His Father,

“Forgive them! They don’t know what they are doing!” (Luke 23:34).

Even in agony, love flowed freely.

Darkness fell across Jerusalem (Mark 15:33), and Jesus whispered “It is finished.” (John 19:30).

As the last breath left His lungs, the sins of the world were put onto Him. The sin of every human to draw breath in every country and time was given to Him. His death was the death meant for the wicked, dark, sinful world. Out of His great, unsearchable love, He took our place. Perfection and righteousness became wickedness and sin. Wholly God and wholly man, He died for us.

The story is not yet over. Three days after the agonizing death of the Savior, those who loved Him mourned. They came to His grave.

It was empty. He had risen. (Matthew 28:5-6).

Hallelujah! Mercy was given! Death could not hold the God of the universe! The Savior, Jesus, conquered death forever!

The power of Christ eliminated the sting and ugliness of death! With a simple breath of faith, grace can be bestowed upon any who ask. We---sinners chained to an eternity in Hell---can be transformed into righteousness bound for eternal life. Immediate forgiveness is given for the dark sin nature we have. Eternal life is ours for the taking!

All because the perfect God of Light loved the sinners of darkness enough to die the worst death imaginable (John 3:16). All because of the powerful Creator of life the inevitable punishment of death was taken away! All because of love, the wall was broken down between man and God. The darkness is turned to light, the imprisonment turned to freedom. The enormous debt has been forgiven. Now, we can speak to God, and have an eternal relationship with Him who loves us. We were drenched in sin, but God gave us righteousness.

Praise God! Won’t you take a sip from the well of forgiveness today? Won’t you take a breath of faith and ask for mercy and eternity? It is here. It is waiting. It is free. Because of the great love, you can be made alive, you can be saved.