‘Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.’ – 2 Corinthians 5:18—19
For a period of time prior to this Good Friday week, I was grappling with bitter thoughts about a wrong that had been done to a dear friend long ago. The more I thought about it, the angrier I felt and I felt rather vengeful towards the culprit. However, I know at the back of my mind that only God is the righteous judge and vengeance is in His hands, but not mine. It was a tug-o-war: sometimes the rope traversed to God’s side where forgiveness and mercy abounds, while at other times it slipped to the dark side where the talons of revenge await.
Knowing that all sins had been forgiven and atoned by Jesus’ death on the crucifix is not enough; we have to internalize it and live by it. This crossed my mind as I struggled with thoughts of bitterness and unforgiveness. It was revealed more to me as I read the followed extract (edited slightly) from Boy meets girl by Joshua Harris:
The face that Moses had begged to see – was forbidden to see – was slapped bloody (Exodus 33:19—20). The thorns that God had sent to curse the earth’s rebellion now twisted around his own brow…
‘On your back with you!’ One raises a mallet to sink in the spike. But the soldier’s heart must continue pumping as he readies the prisoner’s wrist. Someone must sustain the soldier’s life minute by minute, for no man has this power on his own. Who supplies breath to his lungs? Who gives energy to his cells? Who holds his molecules together? Only by the Son do ‘all things hold together’ (Colossians 1:17). The victim wills that the soldier live on – he grants the warriors continued existence. The man swings.
As the man swings, the Son recalls how [God] first designed the medial nerve of the human forearm – the sensations it would be capable of. The design proves flawless – the nerves perform exquisitely. ‘Up you go!’ They lift the cross. God is on display in his underwear and can scarcely breathe.
But these pains are a mere warm-up to his other and growing dread. He begins to feel a foreign sensation. Somewhere during this day an unearthly foul odor began to waft, not around his nose, but his heart. He feels dirty. Human wickedness starts to crawl upon his spotless being – the living excrement from our souls. The apple of his Father’s eye turns brown with rot.
From heaven the Father now rouses himself like a lion disturbed, shakes his mane, and roars against the shriveling remnant of a man hanging on a cross. Never has the Son seen the Father look at him so, never felt even the least of his hot breathe. But the roar shakes the unseen world and darkens the visible sky. The Son does not recognize these eyes.
‘Son of Man! Why have you behaved so? You have cheated, lusted, stolen, gossiped – murdered, envied, hated, lied. You have cursed, robbed, overspent, overeaten – fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled, and blasphemed. Oh, the duties you have shirked, the children you have abandoned! Who has ever so ignored the poor, so played the coward, so belittled my name? Have you ever held your razor tongue? What a self-righteous, pitiful drunk – you, who molest young boys, peddle killer drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents. Who gave you to boldness to rig elections, foment revolutions, torture animals, and worship demons? Does the list never end! Splitting families, raping virgins, acting smugly, playing the pimp – buying politicians, practicing extortion, filming pornography, accepting bribes. You have burned down buildings, perfected terrorist tactics, founded false religions, traded in slaves – relishing each morsel and bragging about it all. I hate, loathe these things in you! Disgust for everything about you consumes me! Can you not feel my wrath?’
Of course the Son is innocent. He is blameless itself. The Father knows this. But…the unthinkable must now take place: Jesus will be treated as if personally responsible for every sin ever committed.
The Father watches as his heart’s treasure, the mirror image of himself, sinks drowning into raw, liquid sin. Jehovah’s stored rage against humankind from every century explodes in a single direction.
‘Father! Father! Why have you forsaken me?!’
But heaven stops its ears. The Son stares up at the One who cannot, who will not, reach down or reply.
The Father rejected the Son whom he loved. Jesus, the God-man from Nazareth, perished. The Father accepted his sacrifice for sin and was satisfied. The Rescue was accomplished.
If I had taken matters in my own hands to tackle the culprit though he might have repented about the wrongdoing before, then I would be committing the sin of self-righteousness. Furthermore, if I would be deemed unworthy of the Lord’s mercy like that of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18. If Jesus had already paid the price for all sinners, and He had forgiven them and accepted all of them in His kingdom, who am I to label another sinner as unworthy and thereby cause dissension, which is contrary to Jesus’ plan for reconciliation?
God forgives so that all people can be unified with each other and with Him. The sacrifice on the crucifix was planned to make us realize that we are all of the same sinful nature, that no matter what sins we had committed before – whether they are more shameful than another – we were still similarly clothed in filthy, bloodstained garments that Jesus personally replaced with clean, pure white robes. May this Good Friday message resound in the hearts of all men and women of this Christian faith, not bearing grudges against each other like self-righteous judges.
May 8th, 2011 by 
chesedkel
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