The Best of the Portals of Prayer

Read: Matthew 17:22-23 / Psalm 120

“Jesus said to them, ‘the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will Him, and He will be raised on the third day.’ And they were greatly distressed.”
Matthew 17:22-23

Delivered into Man’s Hands

Lent is a season given over to Christ’s suffering and death. Some complain that this is depressing or melancholy, and say we should think of happy things instead: “less cross, more resurrection; less Good Friday, more Easter.” But we learn from the Lord Jesus Himself the importance of His cross.
Three times He takes His disciples aside to tell them what is coming, to warn and prepare them, and to let them know that He has come to suffer and die. We learn with the disciples that the cross always must be on our hearts and minds.
Paul reflects the centrality of the cross, saying that He came preaching nothing but Christ crucified [1st Corinthians 2:2]. Martin Luther said, “the cross alone is our theology.” Does this mean that we are melancholy and sad? By no means! The opposite is true. There is no better news than the cross, no happier event than death, our Jesus opened the way for us to enter eternal life. Minds fixed on the cross are full of the joy of forgiveness.
Lord, grant that the preaching of Your cross will bring Your people joy and peace. Amen.

April 11, 2009