Crucifixion of The Highest Form, Beloved Mary
The crucified life is a life set apart to God. It is the life every Believer is called to, but few find it there of. It is a life of surrender, when all has been willingly handed over to God in the pursuit of Him and Him alone. It is a life that is grounded in freedom and lacks nothing. A life that has essentially been emptied only to have been filled to over flowing by God Himself. The crucified life is Crucifixion of The Highest Form. This tent we live in is only temporary and will soon waste away, so to crucify the flesh is far from impossible. But the soul that inhabits each of these tents is eternal, so to be able to crucify it is to essentially conquer death and Hades; To crucify its lust and passions, its desires and natural inclinations to feed the flesh. Thus, the crucifixion of the highest form comes in the crucifying of self.
Galatians 2:20 declares that "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me." In order for me to live a life fully given over to Christ I must first understand His crucifixion and the events leading up to His death. Therefore, this is the first of six excerpts on the Crucifixion of Christ. In these excerpts I will attempt to understand the crucifixion through the eyes of six different participants, in order that I might gain an understanding of How they were used to fulfill God's purpose and plan of redemption. In attempting to understand these purposes, my hope is that I will more clearly understand what it truly means to live a crucified life, in order that I myself might become a willing participant in this Crucifixion of The Highest Form to know God as I have been made to know Him.
Watch the following clip with a watchful eye on Mary, the mother of Jesus
Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
(Luke 1:38)
Mary was a young girl of about 13 years of age when it was declared to her that she would miraculously conceive the Son of God. In the midst of a time when premarital relations was shameful and dishonoring, payable by death, Mary was so easily willing to give up of herself and submit to God's calling. Even in her submission to God in this matter Mary did so humbly, with a heart of a servant. The term maidservant in the Greek suggests faithful, obedient service. Without question Mary humbly submitted herself to God's will, never needing to count the costs, as she fully trusted Him who was calling her by name. Mary had hidden God's word in her heart so much so that when she declared her Great Magnificat in verses 46-55 of Luke 1, she related everything to The Almighty God, according to what had been written in Scripture.
Mary was a humble woman. A woman after God's own heart. A woman who was never once found making a defense for herself or her family. A woman who trusted God with every part of her being, so much so that she was never found pleading her case or fighting her cause. A young woman who knew the Scriptures well. To have known the Scriptures well means she must have been familiar with the prophecy found in Isaiah 53, that of the Suffering Servant. Some time in the 33 years of her son's existence she would have had to come to the realization of what He was ultimately sent for and what the Father required of Him.
Jesus is the Son of God. The Messiah. The King of Kings and The Lord of Lords. And yet, to Mary, He was also her baby boy. Her first born son. Her heart and soul. The same man who suffered the scourging, the shame, the taunting, the beating, and the ultimate crucifixion on the cross, was the same baby she birthed in a filthy barn. The same baby she shielded from the filth of animal feces and stench at only an hour old. The same baby she'd sit and watch peacefully sleep. The same baby she nursed and held tight against the beating of her own heart. The same baby she'd smother with kisses and adorn with love. The same baby she watched grow into an adolescent boy and then a man. A mother's love will always be a mother's love. It is unlike any other love. It is a love that is so easily willing to give up of anything and everything for the comfort and care of her child, even unto the point of death.
And now Mary, in agonizing humility, must stand and watch her son be the center of ridicule, scoffing, and unfathomable pain. Forced to witness the unsightly beating and scourging of her firstborn son, the baby she once smothered in her arms. Forced to hear the relentless whipping and tormenting of this innocent man, the groanings of a pain so terrible that it would send the strongest of men to the grave. The pain Mary must have endured in watching these events unfold before her very eyes is nearly impossible to describe. The deep agony of a broken heart, the heaviness of a shattered soul, and the sorrow that filled every crevice of her being caused her to cry out to God, but never to forsake Him. Her humble heart was broken, but not destroyed. The ridicule and shame she endured as a young woman with child, seemingly out of wedlock, was nothing compared to the pain and sorrow of watching her baby boy being scourged and nailed to a cross. And yet, even in the midst of this unfathomable atrocity Mary remained faithful. Faithful to the Father and faithful to the Son, her firstborn son.
The crucified life, that life that is calling us to absolute surrender, is not a life that comes without tremendous pain and agony. People do not forget, nor do many forgive. The ridicule Mary faced during her pregnancy surely did not cease at the birth of Jesus. There were probably those who still did not look at her, converse with her, or even come near her. There were probably still those that murmured under their breath every time she passed by. What Mary endured throughout her lifetime, her absolute surrender and obedience to God, was now being played out before her eyes in the form of her firstborn son. In order for Mary to have endured the unrelenting ridicule of a crucified life and the agony of her son's journey to the cross meant that she had to have given up everything; Every expectation, every thought, every plan, every feeling, every hope, as a sacrifice unto God. This was not a woman who was weak in faith or in knowledge of The Word. This was a woman who was humble and obedient, willing to serve God at any cost. In her case, it was the cost of a life that would face humiliation, slander, loss of relationships, and the very pain of knowing what her son would have to endure on the cross.
To live the crucified life requires seasons of pain and agony, complete obedience to God and a willingness to surrender everything. But along with these seasons of pain and agony, comes great blessing. The crucified life, the emptying of ourselves, allows God the freedom to fill every crevice of our being. It brings us into a relationship with Him that is impossible apart from the crucifixion of our very souls. Just as He rose from the grave into newness of life, we too are raised into glory through the crucifying of our very own lives so that we can proclaim in freedom that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20) Remembering that you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, you also will appear with Him in glory.(Colossians 3:3-4)
Mary, Beloved Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, the mother of the Most High God. A woman who was willing to give up of herself, to live the crucified life so as to be obedient unto God, even unto the point of death. She is a woman who we have much to learn from.
The ultimate question in my quest to understand the crucifixion of Christ then becomes,
Mary was a humble woman. A woman after God's own heart. A woman who was never once found making a defense for herself or her family. A woman who trusted God with every part of her being, so much so that she was never found pleading her case or fighting her cause. A young woman who knew the Scriptures well. To have known the Scriptures well means she must have been familiar with the prophecy found in Isaiah 53, that of the Suffering Servant. Some time in the 33 years of her son's existence she would have had to come to the realization of what He was ultimately sent for and what the Father required of Him.
Jesus is the Son of God. The Messiah. The King of Kings and The Lord of Lords. And yet, to Mary, He was also her baby boy. Her first born son. Her heart and soul. The same man who suffered the scourging, the shame, the taunting, the beating, and the ultimate crucifixion on the cross, was the same baby she birthed in a filthy barn. The same baby she shielded from the filth of animal feces and stench at only an hour old. The same baby she'd sit and watch peacefully sleep. The same baby she nursed and held tight against the beating of her own heart. The same baby she'd smother with kisses and adorn with love. The same baby she watched grow into an adolescent boy and then a man. A mother's love will always be a mother's love. It is unlike any other love. It is a love that is so easily willing to give up of anything and everything for the comfort and care of her child, even unto the point of death.
And now Mary, in agonizing humility, must stand and watch her son be the center of ridicule, scoffing, and unfathomable pain. Forced to witness the unsightly beating and scourging of her firstborn son, the baby she once smothered in her arms. Forced to hear the relentless whipping and tormenting of this innocent man, the groanings of a pain so terrible that it would send the strongest of men to the grave. The pain Mary must have endured in watching these events unfold before her very eyes is nearly impossible to describe. The deep agony of a broken heart, the heaviness of a shattered soul, and the sorrow that filled every crevice of her being caused her to cry out to God, but never to forsake Him. Her humble heart was broken, but not destroyed. The ridicule and shame she endured as a young woman with child, seemingly out of wedlock, was nothing compared to the pain and sorrow of watching her baby boy being scourged and nailed to a cross. And yet, even in the midst of this unfathomable atrocity Mary remained faithful. Faithful to the Father and faithful to the Son, her firstborn son.
The crucified life, that life that is calling us to absolute surrender, is not a life that comes without tremendous pain and agony. People do not forget, nor do many forgive. The ridicule Mary faced during her pregnancy surely did not cease at the birth of Jesus. There were probably those who still did not look at her, converse with her, or even come near her. There were probably still those that murmured under their breath every time she passed by. What Mary endured throughout her lifetime, her absolute surrender and obedience to God, was now being played out before her eyes in the form of her firstborn son. In order for Mary to have endured the unrelenting ridicule of a crucified life and the agony of her son's journey to the cross meant that she had to have given up everything; Every expectation, every thought, every plan, every feeling, every hope, as a sacrifice unto God. This was not a woman who was weak in faith or in knowledge of The Word. This was a woman who was humble and obedient, willing to serve God at any cost. In her case, it was the cost of a life that would face humiliation, slander, loss of relationships, and the very pain of knowing what her son would have to endure on the cross.
To live the crucified life requires seasons of pain and agony, complete obedience to God and a willingness to surrender everything. But along with these seasons of pain and agony, comes great blessing. The crucified life, the emptying of ourselves, allows God the freedom to fill every crevice of our being. It brings us into a relationship with Him that is impossible apart from the crucifixion of our very souls. Just as He rose from the grave into newness of life, we too are raised into glory through the crucifying of our very own lives so that we can proclaim in freedom that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20) Remembering that you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, you also will appear with Him in glory.(Colossians 3:3-4)
Mary, Beloved Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, the mother of the Most High God. A woman who was willing to give up of herself, to live the crucified life so as to be obedient unto God, even unto the point of death. She is a woman who we have much to learn from.
The ultimate question in my quest to understand the crucifixion of Christ then becomes,
Am I willing to humble myself before the Lord, just as Mary did, and in all things proclaim, Not my will Lord, but thy will be done. No matter the cost. Even unto the point of death.
No comments:
Post a Comment