Violent Action

Last month I wrote about God ripping the big curtain to shreds when Jesus died on the cross.  That veil in the Jewish temple symbolized the barrier between God and man, so God wanted to make it very clear that Jesus’ death forever removed the barrier.  Notice that the action involved there was not a sweet, gentle breath of wind that caused the veil to quietly drop onto the floor.  Nope.  It was an obvious, violent occurrence that happened during an earthquake that shook the whole city of Jerusalem.  It’s as though God chose to shout at us: “HEY! DO YOU SEE WHAT I’VE DONE HERE?”

            Some folks have the idea that God is silent, and if he does speak it’s usually in a whisper.  But nothing could be farther from the truth.  When God really wants to make a point he usually does it with lots of energy.  Another example of this is found in the Bible, in the book of Colossians: “ . . . having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.  And he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (2:14).  That’s not very gently language!  Look at the action phrases, “wiped out”, “taken it out”, and “nailed it.”  Sounds kind of violent, but what is it all about?  Actually, the meaning of this verse is a continuation of God’s action in tearing down the curtain.

            The phrase “handwriting of requirements” literally means, “certificate of debt”.  Before Jesus went to the cross for us, mankind’s arrogant rebellion and sinfulness against God was added to our account.  We accumulated a huge debt that was impossible to pay off.  Obeying all the laws that God gave us through Moses was the only way to prove our devotion to him.  But every time we broke one of the laws our debt grew larger.  When this happens to a person today, he or she can simply declare bankruptcy and start over.  Well, we were definitely bankrupt in relationship to God, but there was no way we could escape the bills we had run up.  No way, that is, without God being willing to cancel our debt.

            Think of it this way.  You’re a business owner with a friend who is also one of your most frequent customers.  But he never pays his bill.  He keeps coming in to buy things and adds more debt to his tab.  Finally, you get tired of this strained relationship.  Realizing that your friend has amassed a debt far too large to pay back, you call him in one day and present him with the long, detailed list of charges.  First you erase every entry, then you tear the paper into small shreds.  Finally you put it in an ashtray and burn it.  Your goal is to demonstrate the total extent to which the debt is cancelled.  This is an accurate picture of Colossians 2:14.  Jesus paid it all.  We have a clean slate from which to start over with God.

            Through purposeful, carefully designed, almost violent action, God has paved the way for us to be reunited with him in loving relationship.  It is a demonstration of his incredible love for mankind.  It’s an invitation to come “home”.  And it’s a guarantee of a debt-free existence.  Our only response is to receive the gift.  But what’s happened to the laws of Moses, from which our behavior used to be measured and our acceptability determined?  We’ll have to save that for next month.  Stay tuned.

Derryck McLuhan

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