13 April 2025

WHAT THE CROSS TELLS US ABOUT GOD

SUNDAY LESSON, 4/13/25
 
WHAT THE CROSS TELLS US ABOUT GOD
Psalm 22:1-8, 12-18 and selected passages
 
Why would a loving Father send His only begotten Son to a world where He would be executed for no wrong that He committed?  No loving parent would ever intentionally put their children in a situation where they would be seriously hurt, much less, be killed.  And, yet, God sent His Son to this world knowing that He would be handed over to ruthless men who would hate Him so fiercely that they would torture and crucify Him without mercy.
So, what does the cross tell us about God?   The cross reveals that Christianity is the only religion where no evil is swept under the rug yet anyone can be forgiven, even the vilest of men.  The cross reveals that God is both a good judge who doesn’t compromise justice and a forgiving Father who gave His Son to save us—while we were His enemies, no less.  Through the cross we see God’s relentless love for people who don’t deserve the gift of His Son, but God gave Him anyway.
PSALM 22:1-8

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.[b]

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.[c]
In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”

PSALM 22:12-18

Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[a] is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

16 Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce[b] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.