From the end of the passion account: "Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him."
When Pastor was reading that the other night during Didache, I wondered about which one was "the other." Checking out Luke's account, I found that the "first" was the unbeliever, and the "other" was the one who repented.
Toss that into the mix with what Romans 6 says about being baptized into His death, and being united with Him in His death. Then throw in a bit of
Let us also die with Jesus.
His death from the second death,
from our soul's destruction, frees us,
quickens us with life's glad breath.
Let us mortify, while living,
flesh and blood and die to sin.
And the grave that shuts us in
shall but prove the gate to heaven.
Jesus, here I die to Thee
there to live eternally. (TLH 409:3)
And you start to think that maybe John's comment about "the other who was crucified with Him" isn't just a historical statement about the people who died in a particular place on a particular day. After all, it doesn't mention that the "first" was crucified "with Him." Maybe this comment by John is also a theological statement about our old man being crucified with Him that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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That is very interesting. I think I may be discussing this topic with Pastor when he returns home this evening. I do believe I would absolutely love to attend Bible study along side you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment on my page, by the way. I wanted to respond last night but couldn't find the words. Seems silly really, but it was very comforting to know that someone really understood what I was attempting to say in those few words. I tend to question myself quite often, and in person apoligizing for the seemingly senseless thoughts that come from my mouth. On and on I go ... simply put I am thankful for your eyes that see and ears that hear.
Dear TPW -- Yeah.... I guess it was a version of a cyberhug, empathizing with what you're going through. It's hard.
ReplyDeleteYou said what I wrote was comforting. But seeing that you're going through it too, that was comforting to me to see that it's not just happening here. Sometimes I think it's kind of a perverted comfort, but somehow it helps to know that others are enduring similar things. And so we pray for "them" and we pray for each other.