Ironically enough, this Passover season God has put on my heart the centrality of the cross.
We know the foundation for what happened upon Yeshua’s cross is what happened in Egypt millennia previous. Yeshua’s crucifixion is analogous to the lamb that was slaughtered on that first night of Passover. And the theological weight and escalating import of what happened on both occasions is captured and articulated in Isaiah 53:
“The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
“He was led as a lamb to the slaughter.”
“The chastisement for our peace was upon Him.”
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”
This Passover season, I have been contemplating the relationship between justice and mercy.
My natural inclination bends strongly–oh so strongly–toward justice. Mercy only comes more naturally (supernaturally) by way of proper spiritual orientation, more specifically, as we are spiritually (re)aligned to the centrality of the Cross.
And not just mercy, either, but solutions for all our problems and trials.
Because it’s there where we are reminded of what we have forgotten when mercy comes difficult to us or is inoperative in our lives:
we are reminded of exactly what we deserve, and how much we have been spared,
we are reminded of the terms of agreement God’s justice made with God’s love,
we are reminded that we are the worst of sinners, and being forgiven of such, we love much and can show much mercy to others,
we are reminded that others are in the exact same boat of lostness, sin, pain, woundedness, and struggle as we are,
we are reminded that it is disobedience and gross rejection of the gospel to demand justice apart from the reality of the cross, on our own terms,
with heart-surging gratefulness, we are reminded of how longsuffering and patient God has been with our stubborn, slow, sheep-like sinful flesh nature,
we are reminded of his compassion in making provision for the total defeat of all sin in our lives,
we are reminded that God’s guaranteed way to abundant life is crucifixion, death,
we are reminded that we are meant to participate and identify with Yeshua’s sufferings of crucifixion and death, as well as resurrection and new life,
we are reminded that when we were at our worst and most deserving of God’s flaring wrath and punishment, He smote the most righteous and sinless among us in our place.
Thus we are reminded that while all cries for justice are now satisfied before the Cross, mercy now triumphs over judgment, that God delights in showing mercy, and our hearts in agreement follow the same suit, willingly sacrificing the flesh’s demand for justice when we suffer unjustly.
We are reminded that justice for the worst of sinners has been served in full.
“…but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”
[Photo taken from https://theentrepreneurialwife.com/tag/easter/]
a beautiful inheritance 