JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Exploration, today’s Reason To Believe is the wonder of the cross.

One of the great wonders of the cross is that while Jesus was nailed to the cross, the nails were not the ultimate force that kept Him there.

In Matthew 26, when Jesus was arrested, one of Jesus’ disciples drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. This drew a swift rebuke from Jesus, who said to His disciple, “Put your sword back in its place….” Then He said, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

Jesus was saying that if He wanted to call off His mission to die for our sins, He could call the heavenly cavalry at any time consisting of 72,000 angels. Jesus did not need nor did He desire His followers to defend Him.

“The wonder of the cross” is that no one took the life of Jesus from Him. He laid it down for us willingly because of His extraordinary love for the sinners of the world.

The wonder of the cross is a reason to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com