Choosing the Right Carrier

Choosing the Right Carrier
Words of Faith 4-23-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 15
[35] When some of those standing nearby heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."
[36] One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.
[37] With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
[38] The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. [39] And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"

Some Jewish thinkers believed Elijah would come as an angel to rescue a pious rabbi or teacher when persecuted. When Jesus cried, "Eli, Eli," this Aramaic expression sounded like a cry to Elijah. But Elijah was not coming to the rescue; Jesus breathed his last and commended Himself to God.

That Jesus died so quickly was a bit unusual. Crucifixion often brought death over several days as dehydration occurred, and the weakened victim was slowly asphyxiated due to the unnatural position of the suspended body. In this locked and upright position, the diaphragm finally cannot draw breath, and death occurs.
The sudden departure of Jesus actually suggests that Jesus was not "killed" by the Roman Crucifixion; instead, He gave His life at the moment of His choosing as He commended His spirit to the Father. The Roman authorities could not take from Jesus what He willingly gave. It was with a loud cry, not a weak whimper that Jesus breathed his last.
The final cry of Jesus is recorded by John as the word "tetelestai," which means "It is finished." "Tetelestai" was a term used in commerce to mean that a debt had been paid in full or that a schedule of required payments was complete. At this moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. This curtain had separated the holy of holies from the people. The barrier between God and humanity had finally been fully and completely removed. The debt of sin that separated God and humanity had been completely paid. The requirements of the sacrificial system in the Temple had been entirely fulfilled by the perfect High Priest, who offered the perfect and complete sacrifice.
The centurion's confession in front of Jesus was not surprising. Once one sees how Jesus died, it is difficult not to conclude that Jesus was surely the Son of God.
The Temple system of sacrifice was interesting because it was personal. The sacrificial system required that each family or person make sacrifices for their sins. A sacrifice was irrelevant if it was made apart from a person's knowledge or trust. Each person was to say prayers of confession and contrition and trust in the blood sacrifice to cover for their sin.
The same is true of the magnificent and wondrous sacrifice of Jesus. Simply knowing that the death of Jesus took place and that the curtain was torn in two does not make our relationship with God right. We must personally trust in the sacrifice of Jesus alone for our salvation. We cannot trust a little. We cannot trust partly in ourselves and partly in Christ. Trust is all or nothing.
Trust is a decision. When I schedule a flight, I must choose an air carrier to trust. I cannot fly two airlines, no matter how much I might like to do so. I may like things about two different air carriers but finally I MUST make the choice and then get aboard and actually fly that airline. In the journey of faith there may be many carriers but only one is trustworthy enough to board. Only one is approved for the journey.
Only one carrier is guaranteed to make it to your destination. That trustworthy carrier is Jesus. He can carry you to your destination by His work on the cross, but only if you will trust wholly in that work and get on board. It is only from this decision that we actually depart and begin the journey.

Lord, I want to be sure that I am boarding the right carrier. I have tried the career of Self. I have tried the carrier of Religion. I have tried the carrier of Intellect. I have even tried the carrier of Emotion. Some of these carriers have crashed, while others have never gotten off the ground. But now I choose to renounce those other carriers in my life. I choose to board the work of Jesus and trust in His work to carry me to my eternal destination. I am ready to pull away from the gate. My seat belt is fastened, and my tray table is locked and upright. Let's go. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.