April 3 Good Friday The Agony of Faith
Jude 3
“The Passion of the Christ” visually and aurally portrayed the agony of Jesus’ suffering and death in such a potent way, that many cannot watch it. And it’s too much anguish for younger saints. But, to me, this movie awakened me from the blasé’ narcolepsy that people like me exude when we say almost tritely, “Jesus died to take away our sins.” It made me clearly see some of hell – in the gruesomeness of Jesus’ beating, the whipping, spitting, mocking, nailing, and dying of our Lord.
That’s agony. We don’t discuss hell much. But certainly, Jesus believed in it, suffered it… and my goodness, He visited hell in His descent! Not to suffer, but to announce victory. In Colossians 2, one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible, Paul poignantly described Jesus’ death and resurrection as the two-sided coin of victory: “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them, in Him.” (Col. 2:14) Paul seems to be thinking about the parade of the defeated soldiers which was a common practice in Roman war. Without a parade or fanfare, Jesus triumphed on the cross – when He was nailed in apparent defeat, only to pull down a crushing condemnation of Satan who is now an “Accuser” silenced by the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, our Salvation.
Jesus’ brothers, James and Jude, seemed to be unbelievers during Jesus’ ministry. (Mk. 3; Jn.7) But the resurrection convinced them that Jesus was Christ and Victor. To deny that He was, after meeting Him alive, would’ve been madness, and their own condemnation. (I Cor. 15, Acts 1) So they came to faith, and they suffered for it.
Jude, most likely Jesus’ brother (see vs. 1 & 17), would write: “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” (Jude 3)
What does this verse mean? The underlined word “contend” is the Greek word giving us “agony.” It can mean “fight, race, conflict.” The phrase means – “Join the fight… and fight with all your might!” I think most Christians don’t join the fight because they are afraid of getting beaten up. They have a proper picture of the conflict. Fighting the devil (usually done best by fleeing) is the “race of faith.” (Heb. 12) It’s agonizing when done daily, and seriously. But James is also describing a fight against unfaithful and distorted teaching. Fight to keep Jesus, Jesus, and His Church, His Church. The more you read and hear Scripture taught accurately, the more you will want to be in the ring. Not many fighters are out of training, or out of shape.
We fight to announce the victory that matters most: the victory over sin, death and the devil. If we are not fighting, we should think about His passion. All that agony, for apathy? People who do not believe the agony and victory were real, will discover for themselves – winner or loser – that the Cross was both agony and victory.
Prayer: : Lord, thank You for taking my agony. Inspire me to fight the good fight of faith. Amen.
