OceanSide church of Christ
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THE IRONIES OF CHRIST’S WORK
Victor
M. Eskew
In II Corinthians 9:15, Paul refers to Jesus Christ as an “unspeakable
gift.” For many reasons, human
beings do not adequately understand and appreciate what has been accomplished by
the Son of man on their behalf. We know that He suffered an agonizing death on
One way to appreciate the work of Christ is by examining a contrast
between what Christ did and what we have obtained through Him. It is ironic that we have received
precious blessings at the expense of God’s only begotten
Son.
In order for Jesus to accomplish His work, He had to be born. John writes: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Mary, the mother of Jesus, conceived as
a virgin. Thus, the entrance of
deity into the world of humanity was by miraculous means. Still, the baby was born. “And so it was, that, while they were
there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there
was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:6-7). The irony is that Jesus’ birth enables
us to be born again. We do not
enter the second time into our mother’s womb, but are spiritually born again
into the family of God. “Seeing ye
have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeign
love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart
fervently: being born again, not of
c0rruptible see, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and
abideth forever” (I Pet. 1:22-23).
This birth is absolutely essential if one wants to enter the
Even though Jesus would become the King of Kings, He was born into a very
poor family. This fact is
established by examining the sacrifice offered by Jesus’ parents when Jesus was
dedicated to the Lord at his circumcision.
“And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were
accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (as it
is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be
called holy to the Lord;) and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is
said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons” (Luke
2:22-24). For those of means, a
lamb was required at this time.
However, “…if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two
turtledoves, or two young pigeons…” (Lev. 12:8). It is ironic that the Creator and Owner
of the world was born into a poor household. It is also ironic that He became poor
that we might become rich. Paul
wrote of this irony in II Corinthians 8:9.
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be
rich.”
Jesus’ position while on earth was that of a humble servant. He served both His Father in heaven and
lost humanity. Paul wrote of His
servanthood in Philippians 2:6-8.
“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God: but made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: and being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross.” At the “Last
Supper,” Jesus vividly displayed His servanthood before the twelve. He exhorted them to follow His example
(John 13:3-17). Jesus’ willingness
to take such a lowly position enabled men and women to rise to the position of
sons in the family of God. “But
when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman,
made under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant,
but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Gal.
4:4-7).
When Jesus entered His public ministry, He was very popular with the
common man. However, His popularity
did not bring Him wealth and riches.
He remained a poor man until the day of His death. When one came to Him desiring to follow
Him wherever He went, Jesus reminded the man that He had no earthly home. “And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have
holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to
lay his head” (Matt. 8:20).
However, if we follow the Christ, we will ultimately possess a mansion in
heaven. Jesus Himself provided the
promise of this heavenly abode.
“Let not your heart be troubled:
ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you. And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3). Isn’t that ironic? The man who never possessed an earthly
dwelling is able to provide us with a heavenly mansion in the eternal
realm.
Another irony lies in the fact that Jesus was bound that we might be set
free. In
The Jewish authorities declared that Jesus was guilty. They convinced the powers of
Because of Jesus we can have everlasting life. Too, our dead bodies will be brought to
life again because of Him. It was
He who said: “Verily, verily, I say
unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death
unto life. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when he dead shall hear the voice of
the Son of God: and they that hear
shall live” (John 5:24-25). How did
it come to pass that life after death and eternal life could be given to
us? Jesus had to die. He died that we might
live.
In every point that we have discussed, Jesus received “the short end of the stick.” His curses, however, became our blessings. When we see Jesus in this light, we, too, should shout from the housetops with these words: “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (II Cor. 9:15).