The Death Worth Imitating

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19: 28-30).

The ridicule and abuse never stopped. The crowd mistreated Him to the end. When Jesus said He was thirsty they offered Him sour wine instead of water. But if truth seekers will follow the leading of our Teacher, the Holy Spirit, we will get a revelation into the sovereignty of the Savior even in the final moments of His earthly life. He was not an unwilling participant in these events but He was fully in control of every aspect of this dreary scene. He was careful and intentional about fulfilling every bit of His Father’s will, right down to the ancient prophecies about the Messiah’s sacrificial death. He was obedient, willingly surrendering His life that we might receive life. In His final moments of life here on the earth Christ died the death worth imitating.

The Teacher reminds us today that in its simplest terms, the goal of true maturing disciples should be becoming more like Christ… “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Today we are exhorted to examine our hearts, compare our words and actions to Christ’s, and with the Spirit’s help, apply God’s truth to our daily walk, that we might leave this sacred place looking, living, and loving a little more like Jesus Christ. The teacher inspired Paul to describe this process as a death to self and resurrection with Christ… “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5). As He inspired John the Evangelist to record Christ’s final moments on the cross, the Spirit presented a very clear and compelling image of Christ at His death that revealed three characteristics that are worthy of imitation. While Christ's atoning death can never be replicated, with the Spirit’s help, diligent, maturing disciples can crucify the flesh and put on these three Godly virtues as we become more like Christ.

There is Christ’s command of His circumstances. Maturing disciples are becoming more aware of and trusting in God’s sovereignty over all of our circumstances… “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all” (1 Chronicles 29:11). Like Christ at His death, we believe God is in control and is always at work for His glory and our good… “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

There is Christ’s consummation of God’s word. Maturing disciples feed on God’s word and yearn to be shaped and transformed by it… “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Like Christ at His death, we are compelled to live and die according to the truth of God’s word… “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:25).

There is Christ’s conformity to God’s will. Maturing disciples are being transformed by God’s word that we might discern and pursue His perfect will… “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Like Christ at His death we have made and we are living out a great exchange of wills… “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

As we grow up into Christ we learn to trust His sovereignty, obey His word, and pursue His will as we are transformed by…

The Death Worth Imitating.