Luke 12:50 KJV
But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
The baptism Christ refers to is His death on the Cross. Most of the commentaries make it as if the Lord were saying that He was in distress about the suffering He was about to endure. The thought occurred to me though that what He is saying is that his ministry was bound (the word straitened means held together, compressed, arrested) until the great work of the Cross was accomplished.
Christ told the disciples that it was expedient for them that He would go away because if He left, He would send the Holy Spirit.[1] Jesus also told them that they would do greater works then He Himself had done after He was gone away. [2]
Truly Jesus' ministry was
Hindered
Limited
StraitenedUntil after His death burial and resurrection. Whatever Jesus did prior to that event was miniscule compared to the great work that would be done after.
It was through the death burial and resurrection
Sin was forgiven
Souls were reconciled to God
God was justified in forgiving sin
The wall was broken which separated man from God
If there had been no death, burial and resurrection the miracles and even the sinless life of Christ on this earth would have served no lasting purpose. We needed more than to see the character of God the Father through the Person of Jesus Christ the Son. We needed a way to get to the Father and that was only accomplished through His death burial and resurrection.
He really was "straitened" until that baptism was accomplished.
[1] John 16:7
[2] John 14:12
But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
The baptism Christ refers to is His death on the Cross. Most of the commentaries make it as if the Lord were saying that He was in distress about the suffering He was about to endure. The thought occurred to me though that what He is saying is that his ministry was bound (the word straitened means held together, compressed, arrested) until the great work of the Cross was accomplished.
Christ told the disciples that it was expedient for them that He would go away because if He left, He would send the Holy Spirit.[1] Jesus also told them that they would do greater works then He Himself had done after He was gone away. [2]
Truly Jesus' ministry was
Hindered
Limited
StraitenedUntil after His death burial and resurrection. Whatever Jesus did prior to that event was miniscule compared to the great work that would be done after.
It was through the death burial and resurrection
Sin was forgiven
Souls were reconciled to God
God was justified in forgiving sin
The wall was broken which separated man from God
If there had been no death, burial and resurrection the miracles and even the sinless life of Christ on this earth would have served no lasting purpose. We needed more than to see the character of God the Father through the Person of Jesus Christ the Son. We needed a way to get to the Father and that was only accomplished through His death burial and resurrection.
He really was "straitened" until that baptism was accomplished.
[1] John 16:7
[2] John 14:12
No comments:
Post a Comment