Who is this Jesus? — Cross and New Creation (Matt 26-28)

Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash

Finally, we come to the end of the story. But, this is not just one story, but three—a story within a story within a story. These chapters form the climax not just for the story of Jesus, but also the story of Israel and the story of creation.

Perfect Obedience — The Story of Jesus

We began this story with God entering our world as a human, entering into our frailty as a newborn baby. We have seen him tempted as we are tempted. We have seen him suffer as we suffer. All of this culminates with Jesus sharing in the final inevitability of every human life—death.

But, for Jesus, this was not an inevitability. It was an act of obedience. Jesus came not to do his own will, but to carry out the will of his Father. To carry out the mission of the cross, dying for our sins, shedding his blood for our forgiveness, bearing stripes for our healing, enduring hell for our restoration to God.

In one sense, Jesus set for us an example. Everything that Jesus taught during his earthly ministry, he carried it out in his actions. Especially at the cross. If we wonder what he meant by “turn the other cheek,” we can look to his example before the Roman tribunal. If we struggle to comprehend Jesus’ teachings on the greatest in the kingdom, we need look no farther than the way he served us at the cross. What does it mean to “love our neighbor as ourselves”? This he showed us as he poured out his love for us.

In another sense, Jesus did it because we could not. Not even the apostles who walked with him for years could attain that level of obedience. It simply was not in them. It is not in us. Like Peter, we want to build a kingdom our own way and in our own strength. And then we fall away in denial when things don’t go the way we expect. Like Judas, we step away from having our brother’s back for our own personal gain. Like James and John, we get caught up in trying to be the greatest instead of humbling ourselves, sitting at our master’s feet, and listening like a child eager to hear a story. Like Thomas, we find we just don’t have the faith to believe. We can’t. Like Peter, James, and John, we could not wait even one hour with him in Gethsemane. Meanwhile, Jesus, enduring the weight of human suffering so much that he said, “Father, take this cup from me”, also said, “Not my will, but thine.”

What hope is there for us if the apostles struggled so? Two things. We couldn’t do it, but Jesus did. He walked this path, bore this burden, and accomplished this salvation on our behalf. He did what we could not. Second, he defeated sin and death in the resurrection and gave us his Spirit. We cannot, but Christ in us can. Little by little, Jesus is transforming us, reshaping us in His image. We are being remade! But, now I am getting ahead of myself.

Perhaps the best summary of this comes from Philippians 2:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

ESV, Php 2:1–11.

Promises Fulfilled — The Story of Israel

The story of Jesus is also the culmination of the story of Israel. Promises made to Abraham, a covenant established and broken, a throne that was sworn to David forever. All of this came to fulfillment in Jesus, especially at the cross.

Jesus was the seed from Abraham from whom all nations would be blessed. The seed that would die and come to life to establish a kingdom that would endure forever. In Jesus, Israel was to be reborn. Through faith in Jesus and his work on the cross, we could be made members of the household of God.

Jesus established the new covenant in his blood. The old covenant had been broken. Because of our own frailty, we could not keep it. Sin and death were continually at our side. But, Jesus overcame sin and death. By his obedience and by his blood, he established a new covenant, not like the one made with Moses. In this covenant, God would write his law on our hearts, transforming us into the image of Christ. In this covenant, God would forgive our sins and we would be made free “from everything from which we could not be freed by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39).

Jesus became the new king over Israel. The cross was a coronation. The Romans put a crown on his head and a robe on his shoulders. They hung a sign saying, “King of the Jews.” They meant for it to be a mock coronation. But, through this act of obedience, Jesus won the throne and was exalted by God so that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”

In the death and resurrection of Jesus, every promise and covenant finds it’s ultimate end. It is to this moment that everything pointed. It is of this person that every word spoke.

Recreation — The Story of Creation

But, we dare not stop there. The story is even bigger than Israel. This is a story that goes back to the garden, back to creation. John tells us that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. From the moment that man first transgressed the first command, God showed mercy and promised a redeemer—the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent.

It is here at the cross that satan is finally defeated. Death and sin lose their power. Corruption begins to be undone as Jesus, the firstfruits of the resurrection, rises from the grave. All things are being made new.

As we come to the end of the book of Matthew, Jesus leaves us with these parting words. He tells us firstly that all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He has the throne. He has the power. Satan has been cast down and the Kingdom of God is invading.

Therefore, go. Make disciples. Proclaim this Kingdom. Proclaim this Gospel. Through baptism, show that all things are being made new. The old is passing away, the new has come. We are being remade in the image of Christ.

And as you go, know that you are not alone. Jesus is with you. Always.

We started this series with a goal to get to know Jesus a little bit better. We did this by studying his words and reflecting on his actions. We have tried to learn to be disciples. At times, this can feel like an impossible task. How can I come to know this man that lived 2000 years ago? By meditating on his words, walking in his steps, communing with his people. And by learning to listen. Jesus is with us. Always.