Throughout history we have recognized heroic figures not only by the way they lived...but ultimately by the way they died! We are captivated by William Wallace...King Leonidas...Maximus Decimus Meridius...legendary figures that have been immortalized through stories and movies. "Death is the final measure of a man". There are moments that stir us... words that excite us...a sense of connection to someone and something that is bigger and greater than any one person!
There is no death more noble...having greater impact...linked to a more significant cause than the life and death of Jesus Christ! Standing before Pilate...abandoned...betrayed...denied...now questioned by the Romanan Governor...his response "FOR THIS CAUSE I WAS BORN AND FOR THIS CAUSE I CAME INTO THE WORLD" - John 18:37. Something deep within Christ...tracking through the all of history...the story of creation to redemption... Hebrews 12:2 "For the JOY set before HIM...he endured the cross".
Pilate again questions him in John 19...with no response from Jesus...Pilate emphasizes his power to release or to crucify Christ! Jesus, on task with a distinct focus and purpose, reminds Pilate that all authority is from above...(John 10 reminder that Jesus as the shepherd lays his life down and has the AUTHORITY to take it back up). We see in Jesus...a HERO of EPIC proportions...JESUS did not have his life taken...but HE GAVE UP HIS LIFE! When he uttered the words...IT IS FINISHED in John 19:30...it was the completion of payment...the fulfillment of his CAUSE...the redemption of humanity to its creator! DEBT PAID IN FULL!!
Jesus not only died for the sins of humanity...cancelling our debt...but 3 days later rose from the dead...conquering sin, death, satan and God's wrath!
THAT IS MY HERO!
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