By His Wounds We Are Healed – Look to Jesus is the 4th study in our series on the readings in Lent. We start off each of these lessons with a look at the passion accounts. We are walking through the Visual Gospel according to Matthew this year. There are five videos and the 4th is the most graphic. Jesus gets flogged and crucified. There is no way to sugar coat the violence of an ancient execution. In all of the violence and horror of the scene – Jesus never sins. He didn’t lash out in a rage – he asks for forgiveness of those who were acting in ignorance. He didn’t call down a legion of angels to slaughter the lot of them – he watched as his followers abandoned him, all but one. The Apostle John was there with women who wept as he died.
In our study of the lessons appointed for the 4th Sunday in Lent we went back to to the wilderness wanderings of God’s people. Little Johnny asks his mom why they keep on wandering in circles. All mom can do is reply that God is waiting for all of the Israelites to died who doubted that God would give them the Promised Land. Only Joshua and Caleb trusted God’s promise. From that generation, only Joshua and Caleb would enter the land of Canaan. As they wandered, it was a soap opera of sin and consequences. In Numbers 21 we find the Israelites complaining about the food. This was a bad idea. God sends snakes into the camp that bite the people. Many die. God provides a cure for the venom. Look to the snake on the cross. In the same way Jesus connects the dots for us in John 3. Look to Jesus and live! Jesus is the cure for our sin.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s Bible study from our series By His Wounds We Are Healed – Look to Jesus.
Please click HERE for the Bible class slides.