Christ's Personal, Experiential Knowledge

How did he do it? How did Jesus live with the knowledge that his entire life was to lead up to the horrific agony of he cross? How did he endure, knowing that this was the reason for his entering this world? How was he able to go on, knowing that he was to carry the burden of ALL mankind's sins? How did he do it?

Jesus knew the Scriptures that described in vivid detail what was to happen to the Messiah, the promised Anointed One, the King. He had memorized those Scriptures. Read yourself these example listed below and ask yourself how he could persist, knowing that this was his destiny.

• Psalm 22:1-21 - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 
• Psalm 41:5-9 - Even my close friend has lifted his heel against me
• Psalm 69:1-36 - More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause
• Isaiah 53:1-12 - He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities

Now put yourself in his place. Consider what it would do to you if you knew that hundreds, no thousands upon thousands, hated you. Think about being forsaken and betrayed by your closest friends. Think not merely upon the physical pain of death upon a Roman cross after being beat within a half-inch of your life. That is bad enough, but it is hardly worth mentioning compared to the torture, the spiritual, heart-felt soul-agony of all that pain even while you know with absolute certainty that you are unjustly abhorred, hated, rejected and beaten in anger and outrage—all of it, not because you deserve it, but because you have chosen to put yourself there in place of others. They deserve this. You do not. They ought to be rejected and forsaken both by men and by God Himself, not you. 

This is the unthinkable agony of the Christ, the Messiah. He was tortured beyond any man's ability to describe. Yet this was the path Jesus freely chose because he revered and loved his Father in heaven. The Father said there was no other way for men to be saved.  From birth men disobey, they disobey in the same way that the first man and woman disobeyed. They are born in sin. And they keep on disobeying every day afterwards. They cannot possibly keep God's commands. Even as Adam's disobedience in the Garden made all men sinners, so now the second Adam's obedience makes many righteous, writes the Apostle Paul. 

For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. - Rom 5:17-19 ESV

This is the obedience that the Hebrews letter describes as it points to all that Jesus endured throughout his life and ultimately upon the cross of Calvary.

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 5:7-10 ESV

 Jesus' learning was not mere information learning. It was experiential learning. He knew from his study of Scripture what was to happen to him. He had that information. But then he did what the prophecies foretold. He went to the cross and through the agony of it all. It became his experience. It happened to him. It became personal. It now belonged to him and to no other. It was like a woman bearing a child. Only she who has gone through it truly knows what that means (John 16:21-22). So Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered.

And he did it all the way! My son became like Jesus when he learned to ride his bike. "I did it, Dad," he said. "I learned how to balance and pedal. I rode my bike all by myself." So Jesus completed our salvation. He finished it. He completed it. He did the deed. It is done, over, and now fully available for all. So he cried out upon the cross in victory, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). That's what Hebrews points to.

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 5:8-10 ESV

I know. If you have read this far it may be most difficult to understand. But pray about it, because this is the most important thing you will ever know. Your eternal life depends upon this good news. More about this next time.

The Re-discovery Of The Soul

A few days ago I began to read a brand new medical science study about death called Erasing Death: The Science That Is Rewriting the Boundaries Between Life and Death by Dr. Sam Parnia and Josh Young (February, 2013). They tell us some very interesting things about changing views of physical death . . . and human life. For instance, up to this point many scientists have concluded that human consciousness, the mind, subjective experience, the person or simply the soul, arises from the activity of the brain. However, all the brain-based theories "do not answer the fundamental question of how thoughts and consciousness or human experience may arise from the activity of neurons."

The authors go on to make a most important point about how thoughts, feelings, emotions and what makes us into who we are arises.

This limitation of all the theories has led to the suggestion that human consciousness or the soul may in fact be an irreducible scientific entity in its own right, similar to many of the concepts in physics such as mass and gravity, which are also irreducible entities. —Kindle location 2785 

They go on to speak about the views of Nobel Prize winner Sir John Eccles, considered by many to be one of the greatest neuroscientists in the world.  The whole of Eccles' philosophical thought has been brought together in a book entitled Facing Reality published by Springer in the Heidelberg Science Library (1970).

Eccles' "view was that the mind, consciousness, or soul itself played an active role in selecting and integrating brain cell activity and molded it into a unified whole. . . He thought of the brain as an "instrument that provides the conscious self or person with the lines of communication from and to the external world" and that "does this by receiving information through the immense sensory system of the millions of nerve fibre that fire impulses to the brain, where it is processed into coded patterns of information that we read out from moment to moment in deriving all our experiences—or perceptions, thoughts, ideas and memories. . . 

Therefore, in (Eccles') view, the brain is an instrument that relays information to and from both the internal and external worlds, but consciousness  or the soul is a separate and subtle scientific entity that interacts directly with it. Furthermore, as the human soul or consciousness is a separate yet entirely real entity that determines the true reality of a person, it continues to exist after death. Therefore, when one dies, one is left with the same level of knowledge, understanding and perception as on earth. This is why people with actual-death or near-death experiences may interpret what they see based on their own level of education and thought. Thus, the level of perception of reality that exists after death is directly proportional to that acquired on earth. —Kindle location 2811-12

The authors describe how modern medical  technology is able to restore human life many hours after brain and heart activity has ceased. These new discoveries suggest that medical doctors must be very cautious about declaring a person dead ! This information also has some far reaching implications for the so-called harvesting of organs from people who have died.

If this question interests you as much as it does me, I can only urge you to read the book. In my next posts I will explore further what the Bible says about the soul and suggest that theologians and medical scientists must carry on with an even more extensive dialog about human existence as both body and soul.