It Was Still My Sin
“Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!’ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, “I am the Son of God.” ‘ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.”
Today’s Text: Matthew 27:27-44 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
This text may be structured in what is called a “chiasm,” named after the Greek letter chi, that is “X.” Having a chiastic structure means that there are parallel themes or words in the passage from the outside-in (or inside-out, depending on your perspective) that looks like ABCB’A’. A-A’ and B-B’ are parallel themes or words. The point of a chiastic structure is to emphasize what is at the center, the “C.” Of course, chiastic structures are not always so neat and tidy and easy to identify. And sometimes, people find chiastic structures where none was intended.
That’s probably more than you ever wanted to know about the Bible, right? But here’s the thing is. Parallelism (chiasm is a kind of parallelism) is an important kind of structure to recognize because we find it all over the place in the Bible. But recognizing and deciphering parallelism is more of an art than a science.
And as I was scratching my head over this apparent chiasm, it seems to me that the center of it lands on the statement “He saved others.” And that makes a lot of sense.
That statement in a chiasm of insults being hurled at him—by the upper echelons of Jewish society, by random passers by, by even the lowest of criminals who were being crucified with Him—tells us that He was hanging on the cross to save all of them.
Whoa. He died to save others. He died to save them. He died to save me. The statement “He saved others” has me grouped with all the “others,” including those who were insulting Him, because I am infinitely more like them than I am like Jesus Christ.
You see, we are all at the center of God’s great plan of salvation for the world in Christ Jesus, but not really in a positive way. In other words, God’s salvation IS about “me-myself-and-I” but in the worst possible way.
Here’s what I mean. Have we ever mocked, made fun of, lacked any compassion for, ostracized, left out, purposefully avoided, or maybe even bullied an outsider or someone who was socially awkward or someone who was just easy to make fun of or someone who just seems to make people uncomfortable (even if just a little) or anyone who for whatever mysterious reason we just don’t seem to like?
I mean, let’s face it. Some people are just hard to be around. I’m just being honest with myself.
But here’s the things: Everything we do or feel toward them is what we do or feel toward Jesus Christ. We can’t help it, because we are slaves to sin. And so, He died to save “others,” that is, us.
And so I’ll recite those lyrics again to remember God’s grace and mercy toward this sinner:
Behold the Man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Cry out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
It is finished. And now, I live to give Him praise and glory.
Father, Your love is supernatural; Your love is divine: Your love is beyond anything I can comprehend and beyond my capacity to practice. And yet You have loved me with that love. But not just me. All of us. As we approach Good Friday, let me know Your love and receive with great sorrow for my sin and joy for Your mercy. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
