Advent Prepare Together - Week 3

What, if anything, has God done about it? (Rescued)

Has God intervened in our hopeless predicament?

Yes! He didn't merely observe from heaven. He, the King of Creation, willingly abandoned His throne, descending into the battle like a front-line soldier to personally rescue us from capture and secure our freedom. This was foretold by the prophet Isaiah:

Can prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? Surely, thus says the LORD: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children…Then all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob” Isaiah 49:24-26.

The Hebrew word for “Redeemer” is goel. In ancient Israel, a goel referred to the male family member who had an obligation to act on behalf of his relatives if certain things happened (e.g. another family member was sold into slavery). Amazingly, God considers you and me his family! You are far more important than you ever imagined!

Jesus would later affirm his identity as the foretold Redeemer:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” Luke 4:18-19.

To be clear, God became man to fight, to go to war, to liberate an oppressed race, to free prisoners. Our cozy images of “little Jesus, meek and mild” are misleading. Jesus is a warrior who invaded in a most clever fashion. God, as man, stepped onto the stage of human history, to trick and fight the one who tricked us.

At first glance when we see Jesus nailed to the cross, he doesn’t look like a warrior. Rather, he appears to be the hunted and victim. But this is God! How could anyone possibly nail God to a cross? The only answer is that he has to want it to happen.

What was Jesus doing on the cross?

We’ve been taught that Jesus is showing us the love of the Father and he is making atonement for our sins—both of which are true. But the main reason Jesus is on the cross is he is going to war to rescue us.

Jesus is something of an ambush predator on the cross, camouflaged in flesh and appearing as a victim in order to attract his prey—Satan. He is intentionally enticing death to himself so that he can destroy death from the inside.

Satan isn’t so stupid that he would try to fight God himself. So God hid himself as a man, a man appearing utterly weak in the face of the enemy, to bait him. He will enter into death and, from the inside, destroy its power by rising from the dead.

This sounds strange. Most of us have never heard this in a homily. Yet this was a frequent way the early Church preached about Jesus’ saving work on the cross. For example, St. Ephrem (4th century) wrote:

Death slew him by means of the body which he had assumed, but that same body proved to be the weapon with which he conquered death. Concealed beneath the cloak of his manhood, his godhead engaged death in combat; but in slaying our Lord, death itself was slain. It was able to kill natural human life, but was itself killed by the life that is above the nature of man.

So, now what? What difference does any of this make in our lives? In fact, Jesus’ saving act changes everything!

We can live without fear of dying. Yes, we’re still going to experience it, but for those united to Christ, death leads us to a permanent, far superior state of being. Consider the analogy of childbirth, where intense pain, loss of control, and fear of the unknown (e.g. the birthing process) give way to immediate, overwhelming, and unconditional love felt at seeing and holding the child; the permanent transition into a new, higher, and more purposeful identity as a parent.

Jesus’ victory over death transforms loss into temporary absence. When we lose someone close to us, we can grieve with great hope, knowing our faithful loved ones who pass on are now experiencing something infinitely greater than this life, to which they beckon us onward.

We are brought into his Kingdom and given access to God the Father. This happens in a real and tangible way through Baptism, where we receive a new identity as an adopted son or daughter of the one true King. It has the effect of moving us from a dysfunctional home, a place full of abuse, into the home of our good Father. We no longer have to be oppressed and taunted by the enemy’s lies and accusations. You are a beloved child of the heavenly Father who delights in you!

Moreover, what do doting fathers do? They love to give good gifts to their children—and our Heavenly Father, being infinitely good, is eager to bestow upon us the most perfect gift: the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). The Spirit is given not just as an abstract feeling, but as the power that enables us to live as His children, the seal that authenticates our adoption, and the deposit that guarantees our eternal inheritance. Through the Holy Spirit, we are not only welcomed into His home but are also equipped with His wisdom, strength, and love to live out our new identity, to fight the enemy's lies, and to participate in the ongoing mission of His Kingdom.

We are new creations and no longer have to sin. Jesus triumphantly rose from the grave, and by his resurrection began recreating that which had been terrorized by the kingdom of sin and death, namely us! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Satan tempts us to live with the lie that says, “This is just the way I am. I’m stuck, defined by my past, caught in my addictions, etc.” No! The whole principle of the Christian life is that you can change. Not by trying harder, but by surrendering. Invite the Lord into your life and live in freedom!

God is wondrously recreating us: our marriage, our personal life, our friendships, our pain. Even if you feel locked in bitterness, resentment, a desire for revenge, addiction to porn, gambling, drinking or something else, God can recreate you, forgive you, make you forgiving, and set you free.

We have been given authority over the enemy. When Jesus sends out the seventy-two, he says to them, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you” (Luke 10:19). It’s important to understand that Scripture tells us not only what happened long ago but what always happens. Jesus is speaking to you, right now. He gives you authority; he gives you power.

What does that look like? It doesn’t mean you should literally step on a snake. When Satan accuses and lies to you, you can take authority over the enemy and his evil spirits. You can declare out loud: “In the name of Jesus, I renounce the lie that I am worthless, the lie that I am not loved, the lie that I’m a bad father or mother, husband or wife. In the name of Jesus, I take authority against the spirit of guilt that is accusing me; I bind you and cast you to the foot of the cross for Jesus to deal with!” Use this authority daily—Jesus has given it to you!

You are worth the trouble.

When a mother gets up at night to feed and care for her crying child, she does it because the child is worth the trouble. When a doctor rushes to the hospital in the middle of the night to treat an ill patient, he does it because the person is worth the trouble. And in his final moments Jesus is essentially saying to us, “You are worth the trouble. You are worth my becoming man, being scourged, crowned with thorns, and going to the cross. You are worth dying for. You matter to me!”

Right now, Jesus stretches out his hand to you! He invites you to grab it, hold on, and let him lead. Whatever prison, tomb, or hell you’re in, take his hand. He can deliver you from wherever you are. All you have to do is take his hand. He is utterly unconquerable.

Week 3 Reflection Questions

1. Which result of Jesus’ rescue resonates most deeply with you and why?

2. As you understand more deeply the biblical love story in which you are the beloved, what impact is it having on your life?

3. Have you ever considered that Jesus’ rescue brings with it expectations for you personally?