Sermons on The Death of Christ
In our fallen nature, we want the crucified saviour without the cruciform life. But in our union with Christ, God has ordained that our path will be the path of his beloved son. If we are his and he is ours, our lives will pattern his life: and that pattern is suffering and then glory, the cross before the crown.
Job begins and ends after the pattern that Jesus speaks of, that the Old Testament anticipates him in his suffering and in his glory. We saw the sufferings anticipated in the first two chapters and throughout the book, and now comes the glory as the Lord restores the fortunes as Job returns out from under the curse.
Job is not about you. Job is not about me. Job is about Jesus. So when we come to this book we need to say, “Show me Jesus.” It is about Jesus and his righteousness, Jesus and his curse-bearing, Jesus and his defeat of the devil, Jesus and his acquisition of glory. That’s what Job is all about.
How can we understand this most contested and controversial clause from the Apostles Creed? What is the importance of the real, full and powerful death of the Lord Jesus Christ?