The Crucified Is My Love. Johann Ernst von Holst
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sadness over his approaching death was interwoven with the joyful hope of resurrection.
In the parable of the grain of wheat he points to Golgotha and the tomb in Joseph’s garden. When the divine grain of wheat was buried, his disciples surely thought of these words and began to sense something of their meaning. But it was also for us that the Lord went this way, and we should now go with him: that is, we should die with him, crucify our old nature at his cross, and finally sink into the earth, trusting in him. But our dying should also be illuminated by the assurance of a blessed resurrection.
In spring the grain of wheat that was sown awakens to new life, and all the other young blades of wheat shine with it in fresh green. They ripen and bear fruit in the light of the sun. It is the same with the highest form of nature: humankind. We also can only attain to new and more beautiful life through death and the grave. Even though the winter is long, the day of resurrection must come when this human seed, buried with so many tears, will awaken and bloom. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is our guarantee for this. If this heavenly grain of wheat had not fallen into the earth and died, then Christ would have remained alone, the unique God-man, highly exalted, apart from and above all other humans. But now, since he has died and risen from the dead, he bears fruit many thousandfold. All of us who live on earth as his redeemed, the church in whom he lives, gathered from all nations, and the countless hosts of the blessed in the heavenly paradise – all form the one nation, the one body of the Lord, the blessed fruit of his resurrection. And when finally spring comes and Easter morning dawns for those whose bodies rest in the earth, when they are raised in eternal transfiguration to live on the new earth under the new heaven, then the Lord Jesus Christ will be the sun that illuminates them and he will be glorified in all.
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Tuesday Evening
When I Am Lifted Up
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
John 12:32–33
THE LORD SPOKE THIS WORD about his being lifted up to the Jewish people and to the seeking Greeks shortly after he had entered the temple forecourt. What he meant here by his “lifting up” is explained not only by John’s addition, “This he said to indicate the kind of death he was to die,” but also by what the Lord himself said to Nicodemus, “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14).
In contrast to the lifting up desired by the disciples and the populace (that is, being raised to the royal throne of a worldly monarchy) the Lord here envisages being lifted up on the cross, where in his sacrificial death he was to bear the whole curse that the serpent had brought upon the human race. Nevertheless, just as the foot of the cross was rooted in the earth while its head was raised to heaven, he was to die only in order to be raised to the throne of heavenly majesty through overcoming death and bursting the grave. Thus he combines in one prophetic saying his being lifted up on the cross and his elevation to glory.
“I will draw all people to myself” means he will not coerce with outward force but draw them with the gentle yet world-vanquishing might of his sacrificial love that bears all things and suffers all things. He will not terrify them with threats and punishments, but win them through wakening a free inner conviction, through kindling a holy love for him.
In this way Christ draws Jews and Greeks – all peoples and all nations who allow themselves to be drawn – out of the bonds of earth to himself on the cross. His love overcomes their natural opposition, enduring, atoning, and forgiving. In his suffering he becomes the most beautiful man in the eyes of all repentant sinners. At the foot of his cross the old heart dies; at the foot of his cross a new heart is born. Thus he drew the criminal to himself. “To myself,” says the Lord – not to any kind of dogma, not to a law, but to himself, to his most holy person.
He draws them into his discipleship, into his school of the cross, into a God-fearing attitude of mind, and so makes them living members of his church on earth. Finally he draws his own, through death, out of the prison of the body, out of this earth’s vale of tears, up to the perfect life and love of his heavenly kingdom. There they will experience the meaning of the divine prophecy: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you to myself” (Jer. 31:3).
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Wednesday Morning
Judas’s Bargain
Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
Matthew 26:14–16
IS IT TRUE that each Christian has a price for which he would sell his Savior? Unfortunately it is only too true in the case of all who are not willing to break with sin. It is true for those whose Christianity only serves to satisfy their earthly desires, or who imagine they are able to combine it with serving the world. We see what this must lead to in the shattering example of Judas.
The closer his relationship with the Lord, the more powerfully did he feel himself compelled to make a quick decision between complete dedication and hostile desertion. Since he did not want to tear his deeply rooted love of self and of the world out of his heart, he was dragged into the camp of the enemy. For the miserable price of a slave, for thirty silver pieces, the once enthusiastic disciple sold his Master! To be sure, the paltry silver pieces were not the real object of his action. Above all he sought to rid himself of this master, who by his constant demand for a complete change of heart and life had become ever more unbearable to him. He sought to acquire a reputation in the eyes of the leaders of his nation and so reach once more a comfortable position in life. Incidentally, his avaricious nature was not averse to making a small profit while doing so. While considering these thoughts, his better self rose up once more against them. Once more a terrible struggle was fought in his breast, but with the sad result that his conscience was finally crushed. Then he went and concluded the hellish agreement.
But the king of heaven and earth, in whose light and love the transfigured earth will one day celebrate its eternal Sabbath, was valued at the paltry price of a slave. What humiliation and outrage he had to endure! He emptied himself and took the form of a servant, and was obedient unto death. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He atoned for our pride and suffered our humiliation. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace (Isa. 53:4–5).
But for those of his disciples who thank him from their hearts, who willingly empty themselves of self with him, who break completely with their sin and take upon themselves the form of a servant in devotion to their Master – in short, those who truly believe in him and love him above everything – for them there is no Judas-price in any world for which they might forsake and betray their Savior. History bears witness to this in the joyful death of countless martyrs, who were able to say to their Lord and Master with the psalmist: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:25–26).
How do you stand, my soul, with regard to your sins and to the selling price? Examine yourself carefully. Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever loses it for Christ’s sake will keep it (John 12:25).
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Wednesday Evening
The Fig Tree
In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been