Colossians 2:16-23, The Sufficiency of the Cross (3)

Specifically, we are talking about the sufficiency of the cross to give a person access into the presence of God.  It has to do with the rending of the veil from top to bottom.  Paul’s letter to the Colossians, the entire letter, is about the sufficiency of our Savior and His salvation, His person and work. 

Colossians was written to churches that were contending for the gospel, that were being told that the gospel was insufficient in bringing people into such a relationship with God.  They needed something more.  Whatever the “more” was, it involved philosophy and empty conceit, according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ (Col. 2:7).  The specifics of what “more” was needed included standards involving food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths (2:16).  Since Paul says these things are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ (2:17) it is possible there was some Jewish/Old Testament influence involved, although it does not appear to be the strong “Judaizing” influence experienced by the Galatian Churches. 

In addition, from 2:18-23, the “more” involved taking delight in false humility and worship of angels … regulations – “do not touch, do not taste, do not handle.”  These were according to the commandments and doctrines of men, and had an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body.  Since Paul does not speak of these in detail, nor does he contradict each regulation, it is possible that the problem is not that they have been led to follow the wrong “religious practices” but that they have been tempted to follow ANY religious practices. 

It is also clear that what the Colossian believers are being called to “do” is seen by Paul as “in addition to” the gospel.  In Col. 2:8 these things are “not according to Christ.”  In 2:17 the religious practices are at best “a shadow” but the substance is of Christ.  Doing these things has kept them from not holding to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God (2:19).  In 2:20 he clearly states that doing these things is totally unnecessary if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world.  And at the end (2:23) he is emphatic that these religious practices are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.  In other words, these religious practices, being designed to teach discipline or self-control, which is evident in all the rules and restrictions and taboos, are useless to do the very thing they are intended to do.

What is described here is not unusual.  It sounds like, essentially, every religion ever created.  Paul rightfully relates this to “traditions of men” and “basic principles of the world.”  The New Testament never taught these things.  We were not left with a system of religion, not even in the physical observances of water baptism and the Lord’s Table (nor foot washing if that is one of your practices).  There is a reason for that, and we will see it in Colossians.

Esther 4:10-5:3, The Sufficiency of the Cross (2)

In the previous post, the ideas about “forsaken” and “torn in two” bring me to the subject of “The Sufficiency of the Cross.”  Jesus without exception bore the sins of the world on Himself.  His work was complete.  The IMMEDIATE result was that, upon His actual death, the veil was torn, granting access to God.  In the Septuagint in Esther 1:14 we see that the seven princes of Media and Persia, the highest ranking officials in the government, were the only ones to have “access” to the king.  Later in the story, although the term is not used, the thing that everyone needed was access.  Haman had it by virtue of the King’s ring.  Esther was afraid to approach the King but did and was granted it when the King extended his scepter.  Mordecai later was given the ring, giving him access.  All this tells us that “access” is a high privilege, and brings great blessing to those who have it.

In the NT the term is used thrice.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Rom. 5:1-2)

For through Him we both (Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ) have access by one Spirit to the Father. (Eph. 2:18)

…according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. (Eph. 3:11-12)

Before we go any further, I want to share some current background illustrations that have brought this “access” to my attention.  We recently made a four week to visit family and friends.  We attended church fellowship on the four Sundays in what would be called “evangelical” churches.  In two of the four we were encouraged to celebrate or participate in some way in the 40-days of Lent.  I sat wondering why Protestants are taking up the call to Lent?  For some reason, centuries ago, we found these to be lacking in some way.  People died over the issue.  It appeared to my keen “pastor’s” eye that one church was parroting a program suggested by someone else.  Sure enough, later, through an internet search, I could find the same materials and terms and PowerPoint slides that had been used.  The other, which I know has some Anglican leanings, was much more “original” about it. 

Additionally, I have seen some article suggesting there is a great movement among young people towards the Catholic Church, even from those with Protestant leanings.  The reason has to do with a love for “ancient religion” and the ritualistic emphasis of the RCC.  Again, I’m wondering why?  Don’t expect a full answer to these questions, but I am extremely interested in the issue of “access” to both these questions.

Mark 15:33-38, The Sufficiency of the Cross (1)

Continuing in Mark 15, we note these events while Jesus was on the cross:

·       15:33-34: forsaken.  In this case He was not forsaken by His friends and followers of course but by His God.  We need to remember that this is not Jesus angry at His Father because of all the physical pain.  This is not like so many who doubt the love of God because He has allowed some grievous trial into their lives.  For one thing, Jesus is quoting Ps. 22:1, the beginning of the OT description of His death on the cross.  If you read the entire Psalm, which most understand was written by David under the direction of the Holy Spirit because David could not have been writing just about his own personal experience, you will see that at the end of 22:21 the subject of the suffering knows there will be an answer of hope from His God.  The Messiah is not so much looking for an answer to the “why” but is acknowledging that there is a “why.”  He is truly forsaken, the Son of God by the Father.  This is all within the bonds of the Godhead.  It indicates there is something of major and unique proportions that has happened to bring this about.  Never before had this happened, nor will it ever happen again.  It is only here, as Jesus is numbered with the transgressors, as He bears our sins, as He satisfies the wrath of God.  We will never understand this if we have a too-shallow view of our sin and guilt.

·       15:35-36: misunderstood.  This pales in significance compared to the forsaking.  Someone hears “Eloi, Eloi” and thinks he has heard a call for “Elias.”  In the order of the words of Christ from the cross, the cry to “Eloi” must have been followed soon after by “I thirst” (Jn. 19:28; cf. Ps. 69:21), because the one who hears “Elias” goes to get the wet sponge.  As we have noted previously, Jesus at the beginning rejected the wine with myrrh because He wanted to bear the fullness of our punishment.  So “My God” leads to “I thirst” which leads to “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30) and “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Lk. 23:46).  Jesus did not need to correct the man who misheard because at this point the only relationship of concern is the one He has with His Father. 

·       15:38: torn in two from top to bottom.  The temple was much higher than the tabernacle was in the wilderness.  Thus the veil was quite high.  Like the one in the tabernacle it was quite thick, several layers of material.  You can read about the original earthly veil in Ex. 26:31-34.  The purpose was to separate men from God, to maintain His holiness by separation.  Behind the veil was the mercy seat, where God dwelt with men.  Only the priest could go there, only once a year, only with blood to sprinkle (Lev. 16:15-17; Heb. 9:7-9).  But upon the death of Christ this veil was torn in a way, from top to bottom, that made it clear: only God did this!  The veil was torn, thus indicating there was not something special in the relationship that men could have with God.  There was “access.”

Phil. 2:5-11, The Fullness of Humility

As we continue through Mark’s account of the cross of Christ we come to an event that was recorded by all four of the Gospel writers: the dividing of His garments.  Does that surprise you that by the Holy Spirit they all were led to include this story?  I was and wondered about it: what point do we gain from this story?  I remember as a child that a teacher said it was special for Jesus to have a robe of one piece of cloth, so that the soldiers didn’t want to tear it in pieces but gambled for it.  That has a ring of truth, and I can imagine that among the women, some of them wealthy, who followed Jesus throughout His ministry, might have given it to Him.  Most of that is not important since it involves the imagination and not Scripture.

When I read Psalm 22:16-18, where it is part of the prophecy of the crucifixion, and thus adds greater importance to the event, it seems to be that it is in a context that emphasizes the humility of Christ.  Dogs have surrounded Me … they pierced My hands and My feet … they look and stare at Me … they divide My garments.  To me it has a little bit of a circus show.  People staring at the gruesome sight, jeering, while soldiers are playing a game.  All at the feet of the Son of God. 

Let me remind you of the seven steps in Jesus’ humiliation from Phil. 2.

Being in the form of God … He emptied Himself … Taking the form of a bondservant … Being found in the likeness of men … He humbled Himself … To death … Even death on the cross.

It is what Rome always intended for crucifixion: pain but shame!  “Fun and games” while the Savior suffers for sin!  All this is part of “death on the cross.”  As Isaiah prophesied: He was despised, and we did not esteem Him (Isa. 53:3).

·       15:25: Here is a reminder of the timeline, given in Scripture.  Crucified the third hour (9AM).  Both the Jews whose Sanhedrin met at sun-up, and the Romans who received the Prisoner shortly thereafter, things moved quickly.  There were no seemingly interminable legal moves like we have in our courts.  From noon to 3PM there was darkness (15:33, 6^th to 9^th hour), after which He entrusted Himself to His Father in death.  By 6ish the Body was in the tomb.

·       15:27: He was crucified with two “robbers,” also called “malefactors” or “evil doers” in Lk. 23:33.  I have heard a senseless theory that there were five crucified.  As I say, senseless.  Robbers are evil doers.

·       15:29-32: The blasphemy, head-wagging and mockery are a big deal, prophesied and anticipated in Psa. 22:6-7; 69:5-12; 109:21-25.  Remember: there is respectful disagreement with people of every religion, but not with Christ or His followers.  Quit acting surprised.  If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. … If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you (Jn. 15:18-20).

Heb. 4:14-5:11, The Fullness of Suffering (2)

Jesus paid the full price for a vicarious atonement, being fully counted as a sinner.  But in addition, here are two passages from Hebrews that tell us why He experienced the fullness of suffering.

·       Heb. 4:14-16: We love this passage because the Father invites us, no, entreats us to come into His presence in our time of need.  But what makes it so wonderful is that when we get arrive in His presence we find our “High Priest to the uttermost.”  Jesus was tested (that is the sense of the word “tempted”) in every way as we are.  Look in the following verses, 5:1-2, how the High Priest was chosen from among those He represented before God.  Since He has this connection eHHe can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness.  His compassion comes from His identification with their weakness, not from the fact that He has gone astray.  Jesus never sinned.  But He was tempted to sin, meaning that He was tempted to the max because He did not yield to the sin.  But He could feel every bit of the temptation.  Thus, on the cross, He opted for the fullness of temptation.  He was there for the entire world.  No one can say “He doesn’t understand what I’m going through” because He has not forgone any of the test. 

·       Heb. 5:5-11: Furthermore, He is our “Savior to the uttermost.”  One of the many things that was “finished” on the cross was the “perfecting” of our Savior.  Let us remember the definition of perfecting.

The fundamental idea in this word is the bringing of a person or thing to the goal fixed by God. The word speaks here of Messiah having reached the end which was contemplated in His divinely appointed discipline for the priesthood. This consummation was reached in His substitutionary death on the Cross. (Kenneth Wuest)

“Perfecting” is not talking about sinlessness, though Jesus was sinless.  Rather it is about finishing the race, coming to the end successfully.  Heb. 12:1-2 fits here perfectly.  We are called to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.”  In other words, we need to come to completion.  And what is our goal?  Christlikeness!  We were predestined for this (Rom. 8:29-30).  When God chose us to be “holy and blameless” His plan was that this would come about through our adoption as sons (Eph. 1:3-6).  Heb. 12:2 tells us about Jesus’ perfecting: He endured the cross.  Therefore, in Heb. 5:8, we learn that He learned obedience by the things that He suffered.  As Wuest pointed out, this was finished on the cross.  Having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.  Do you wonder if “all” includes you?  Yes, it does, if you have exercised the obedience to the faith (Rom. 1:5).  You know because Jesus did not shun the suffering on the cross.

Psalm 98

Here is yet another Psalm of Victory in the “90’s” that exalts YAHWEH with new, joyful and loud songs of praise.  It’s likeness to other nearby Psalms is emphasized by the almost exact duplication of Psalm 96:11-13 in 98:7-9.  It is not that the Psalmist is short of ideas; it is that he has in mind the same exaltation of the Messiah when He comes to judge the world.

Consider this Psalm and its message in three contexts: past, present and future.

v  The impetus for this exaltation likely came from one of Israel’s victories, a victory when God especially showed Himself to be Israel’s Savior.  A prime candidate would be the victory over Israel’s eastern neighbors Ammon, Moab and Edom in the days of King Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20).  After God’s marvelous deliverance, in answer to the King’s great prayer, the people blessed God in the Valley of Berachah (Blessing) before returning to Jerusalem with great fanfare of instruments, harps, trumpets and so forth (2 Chron. 20:26-30).  The result for the nations was that they feared God when they saw how He delivered Israel.

v  The Church feels the same call to praise today for the same reason.  Through the victory of Christ in the cross and resurrection (Col. 2:13-15), the “Church on Earth” is assured to become the “Church Triumphant” (Heb. 12:22-24).  We shall be raised victoriously for death is swallowed up in victory through our Lord Jesus Christ and for this reason we are called to give thanks to God (1 Cor. 15:50-58).  The King is in waiting but the victory is already won!  This is reality for God’s people today.  To Him (the One who does exceedingly, abundantly above all we ask or think) be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever (Eph. 3:21).  For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever (Rom. 11:36).  And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.  To Him be glory forever and ever (2 Tim. 4:18).  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Pt. 1:3). 

v  The day will come when the King will no longer be in waiting.  He will leave the right hand of the Father and will ride victoriously out of heaven, with His hosts behind Him, and will come to claim His throne, the throne of Zion.  There is no more glorious and hopeful picture than that which is described in Revelation 19:11-21.  Everything about His revelation speaks of victory.  And His first action upon arrival at the Mount of Olives is to subdue His enemies, all His enemies, including the most formidable: Satan, the Antichrist and his false prophet!  All of mankind, yes, all creation are called to give this praise for He is coming to judge the earth … the world … the peoples with equity.

Phil. 3:8-16, The Fullness of Suffering (1)

What about “the fullness of suffering?”  Jesus refused the “wine mixed with myrrh” that would have reduced the pain.  The first thing we should consider is what Paul said in Col. 1:24: I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church.  The Catholic Church has taken this as the basis for many heresies in my view.  It is particularly the reason for the constant re-enactment of Jesus’ death in the “mass.”  We are always needing to “make up for our sins” by repeatedly crucifying Christ “under the bread and the wine.” 

Certainly, you cannot take Paul’s words to mean that Christ’s suffering on the cross were incomplete.  Paul is speaking of his sufferings (“my sufferings;” “my flesh”).  Paul has in mind the fact that he is a follower of Christ and thus bears his own cross.  Every follower of Christ feels this (Mk. 8:34).  In Mt. 16, when Jesus called His disciples to take up the cross, He had also announced that He was building His Church.  When we obey the command to “make disciples” (Mt. 28:19-20), we, like Paul, are serving through our sufferings for the sake of the church, those who will come to Christ.  Paul’s longing in Phil. 3:10 is the same: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.  On the cross Jesus embraced everything having to do with death; that was His ministry.  That is not our ministry.  We have already, once and for all, been crucified with Him and raised to eternal life.  But now we carry our cross, and as He leads us, we are being “conformed to His death,” not completing or adding to His death.  As Jesus said, the work is FINISHED!

So now we ask, why did Jesus need to know the fullness of suffering?

·       Mk. 15:28: So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.  The term “numbered” is an important and familiar doctrinal term in the NT.  It means to “consider” or to think in a certain way.  In Rom. 4:3-5 it is used of Abraham believing God and it was “counted” to him as righteousness.  In Rom. 6:11 we are told to “reckon” ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God.  In 2 Cor. 5 it is translated “impute.”  Abraham was not considered partially righteous.  We do not halfway consider ourselves dead and alive in Christ.  Sin is not partially imputed.  So we must recognize, that when Jesus was counted or reckoned as a sinner, this was total.  He truly and fully became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21).  He was not just an observer of our sins; He bore them in His body on the tree (1 Pt. 2:24). 

·       Isa. 53:6: The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.  The doctrine of vicarious atonement figures into this as well.  Again, as Isaac did not have to die for sin because there was a substitute, so our substitute has provided full atonement.  Remember the Barabbas illustration in Mark 15: Barabbas was totally free and Jesus paid in full.  (More on this in the next post.)