Jesus Surrendered--Sinners Snatched Up

What Did Jesus Do?

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,
they took his garments and divided them into four parts.
John 19.23

The 23rd Psalm is one of the most familiar and beloved chapters in Scripture. But it was the 22nd Psalm that the Lord recalled as he hung on the cross. Even as he cried out in anguish the words his ancestor David had written so many years before (See Psalm 22.1; Matthew 27.46; Mark 15.34), Jesus surrendered what amounted to his earthly estate, the clothes on his back. And the Roman soldiers who had been given the job of crucifying Jesus eagerly seized and divided the garments among themselves.

Though they truly didn’t know what they were doing (Luke 23.34), the soldiers were actually a type, an example, for all sinners to follow. The difference being that, while the soldiers received and divided what material benefits they could from the Lord’s death, Jesus graciously offered his body and blood on the cross so that sinners should receive the spiritual benefits of his heavenly estate. What Christ surrendered on the cross we snatch up every time we partake in the meal Jesus instituted the night before he was crucified.

The soldiers grabbed what they could, and enjoyed for a time whatever benefit they could, probably by selling for a few shekels the items that made up the lord’s wardrobe. While the Lord had little choice in surrendering his garments to a few in a Roman execution squad, what Jesus surrendered on the cross he freely offered to the whole world. Thus Jesus surrendered what sinners could never obtain on their own, and these benefits are both immeasurable and eternal. No wonder sinners have eagerly, joyfully, come to the table to freely receive the bread of forgiveness from sin, and the wine of release from punishment.

While the first twenty-one verses of Psalm 22 are a plaintive cry, verses twenty-two through thirty-one comprise a powerful proclamation of faith and trust. Vindication is promised for the despised, abhorred, and afflicted (verses 22-24). Verses 25-31 cast a vision of the entire world, “the families of the nations,” coming together to praise and worship the LORD for his deliverance. All that the servant of the LORD surrenders in the first half of the Psalm is snatched up and returned to the LORD in exultant worship by those who know him and receive all his benefits.

It may be that Christ’s prayer to the Father for forgiveness for those who acted in ignorance resulted in the deliverance and salvation of the four legionnaires. We will never know for sure this side of eternity. But it is absolutely certain that what Jesus surrendered on the cross achieved the salvation of all who repent of their sins and freely receive the gifts of his body and blood. It follows that we who have snatched up these inestimable benefits should offer up our praise and worship to the Father, for the deliverance he has granted in the Son, and imparted to us through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4