Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you…
[Jesus] was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 1 Peter 1:3-4; 3:18b

There is such excitement in Peter’s voice as he acknowledges the amazing benefits that are ours because of Jesus, in particular, because of the resurrection of Jesus.

First, there is ‘new birth’. This is a recurring theme in the New Testament: it is the promise of a new start with all the mistakes and messes of the past sorted.

Second, there is a ‘living hope’. We are living in difficult days. So much that happens in the world brings a negative feel to life, even a hopeless feel. In Christ and because of Christ, despite everything, we can be positive.

Third, we are promised an ‘inheritance’, something to look forward to. What is more, that inheritance is imperishable, unspoilt and unfading. That’s quite a promise! And all because of the resurrection of Jesus. No wonder Peter gets excited! Easter Day is a good day to get excited.

The cross – was it worth it? Yes – because of the death and resurrection of Jesus we have a sorted past, a joyful present, and a promising future!

…don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his… Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Romans 6:3-5,8

Paul compares Jesus’ death and burial with baptism. When we were baptised it was “into his death”. And just as Jesus’ death is the gateway to resurrection, so our baptism is the gateway to new life. This is vividly seen in a believers’ baptism service when the candidates enter the water down one flight of steps (leaving the old life behind), are immersed in the water (buried), and emerge up another flight of steps (entering the new life).

The cross – was it worth it? Yes – it is the gateway to life.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-24

Crucifixion was one of the most painful deaths that human beings have ever devised. A man hanging dying on a cross clearly demonstrates foolishness and weakness. Yet, surprisingly, Paul uses the opposite words to explain the crucifixion of Jesus: wisdom and power.

The cross – was it worth it? Yes – because the cross unleashes power which can change our lives.

For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation…Romans 5:10-11

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sin against them. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

It is we who spoil the relationship with God through our sin, but it is God who takes the initiative to put it right: through Christ he offers us not just forgiveness but reconciliation – we can be God’s friends again! On the cross his arms are open to welcome us back.

As a sign of our thanks for the renewal of friendship he invites us to do the same: to forgive and make friends with others.

The cross – was it worth it? Yes – because of the cross I can be friends with God.

For this reason he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted… he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 2:17-18; 9:26b

Hebrews is full of Temple-talk. The priest was the go-between between people and God, the sacrifice was offered by the priest to God for the sins of the people, atonement was what that offering achieved – forgiveness. Jesus is all those things: the best high priest ever, the most effective sacrifice ever, and providing a permanent means of forgiveness so that temple sacrifice is never needed to be made again.

Jesus’ chief qualification for this is that he knows us and sympathises with us. A person who is blessed with a pain-free life sometimes finds it difficult to understand someone who experiences much pain. A person who learns easily is sometimes impatient with the slow-learner. But because Jesus has lived the human life he knows and understands us, even experiencing temptation – he is the perfect “go-between”.

So, there is in place the means of forgiveness for our sins – when we come to God in confession we know we are forgiven. St. John put it like this: “…if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins…” (1 John 2:1-2).

The cross – was it worth it? Yes – because of it we know we can be forgiven – always!

The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst… For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. 1 Timothy 1:14-15; 2:5-6a

The imagery Paul is using here to explain what Jesus did at the cross is that of hostages taken for ransom . To ransom is to buy someone or something back. The same principle operates in the pawnbroker’s business: when you are hard up you can go and sell something; then when things improve you can go and buy it back (at a higher price, of course) – you ransom or redeem it.

When Jesus died on the cross we were “bought back” for God. He made us and loves us so much that when we went astray he bought us back through Jesus. So, in a sense, we are twice his!

The cross – was it worth it? Yes – although I have gone astray, through the cross I have been bought back by God. Praise him!

…righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus… Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3:22-24; 5:1

In court the process is clear: someone is accused of doing something wrong, evidence is heard and challenged, a verdict is given, and sentence passed. This is the background to Paul’s words here. It is we who are in the dock, accused of breaking God’s law – and however good we may be, we are all in the same boat, because none of us keeps God’s law fully and always. The verdict is given, “guilty”.

But then comes the surprise: the judge (God) declares: “you are justified”, that is, cleared, nothing to pay, free to go. And we may want to say: How come? And the answer is: Jesus has done the necessary so that you can be free – that is another way of saying “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (v.24).

There are many today who know they have got it wrong, feel guilty about it, have no peace, but don’t know what to do or where to go. What they really need to hear are the words: “you are forgiven, free to go”.

The cross – was it worth it? Yes – because of the cross I know I am OK by God and can enjoy peace with him.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us. Romans 5:6-8

They say: “actions speak louder than words”, but do our actions support our words? In this matter, God cannot be faulted. Paul tells us that God has demonstrated his own love for us through the death of Christ. What is more, in emphasizing the greatness of this love-in-action, Paul reminds us that when God did it, we were not exactly nice people to know: we were ungodly, we were sinners, and we were in a helpless state. At that precise moment God acted in love and Jesus died for us. Amazing love!

John agrees with Paul and is equally amazed: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:10-11)

One of the cruellest actions ever (crucifixion) is also be the greatest ever demonstration of love.

Was it worth it?”. “Yes!” Now I know he loves me!

When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, “blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But he said to him “A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, “Come for all is now ready” But they all alike began to make excuses… And the master said to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet”.
Luke 14:15-18a, 23, 24

The Bible has a recurring picture of the day when God would give a great feast to his people. It is this banquet that the man who spoke to Jesus was thinking about.

When the man spoke about the happiness of the guests invited to the banquet he was thinking about the elite. In his eyes they were the IN crowd. It would never occur to him that sinners of all kinds would find a place at God’s feast. This is why Jesus told this story.

When God invites people to his feast the elite tragically refuse their invitations. It is the poor from the streets and those gathered from the roads and the hedges who respond positively.

For Jesus, the Kingdom is symbolised by a feast, a banquet.The Kingdom of God is a party!

We have an open invitation to the feast. But this passage challenges us to think about how we value that invitation and about how we relate to the other guests. Is it a celebration for the IN crowd or is it a celebration to which the marginalized and excluded are welcomed?

After this the Lord chose another seventy-two men and sent them out two by two, to go ahead of him to every town and place where he himself was about to go. He said to them, “There is a large harvest, but few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest!” Luke 10:1-3

Although these men are not called apostles they are still “those who are sent”. They were ambassadors who went out to represent the King. They were sent by him and they went before him in order to prepare the way for his coming. This is hard work. There were not many of them to do an enormous job.

It is interesting to note that they did not pray for an easier job but they prayed for more people to share the load.

They were ambassadors of the Kingdom. They were sent out by Jesus to heal the sick and to bring the Good News to those who had not heard it. They knew that some people would reject them. It is now, as it was then, a serious thing to reject the ambassadors that God sends. However, these ambassadors were under no illusions – they knew that the work would be tough.