Filthy Rags

"At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”



47 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 48 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. 49 But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”


50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, 52 and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. 53 They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

54 The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”"  Matthew 27:45-54

Can you see Him hanging on that cross, nails driven into his hands and feet?  Yet He was affixed to the cross not by the physical but the spiritual - by His own volution, by HIS own will!  He could have come down from that cross at any point.  He had full command of the legions of angels - standing ready, waiting for Him to merely utter the words.  Yet though they were at His beckon, He was not in need of their help, He was fully God - with all the power of the Almighty at His command.  He was the WORD by which the world was created.  He was the Word by which life was formed, "In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him.  The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought new light to everyone.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."  John 1:1-5 

Yet there He hung, choosing to see His mission through.  Though He was fully God, He was also human.  He felt every stripe of the whip when He was beaten.  He felt the pain of the crown of thorns as it was forcefully placed on His head.  He felt the full weight of that cross as He drug it through the streets until his weakened condition required help.  He felt each and every hammer swing as the nails were driven into his hands and feet.  He suffered the mocking and cruel laughter from the crowd as He was dying.  Some people try to rationalize away the pain and agony Christ suffered, explaining that because He was God, His supernatural powers minimized the pain He experienced.  Make no mistake, He suffered greatly on our behalf.  He chose to.  Why?  Because He was paying the FULL PRICE for the sins of the WORLD!!!  The FULL WEIGHT of SIN was UPON HIM.  He had to die.  It was the only way that we could ever have a chance to be reconciled with God.  It was the only way we could be cleansed for our sins and receive forgiveness.  Only through Him could we find mercy and grace!  HE was our ONLY HOPE! 

Though in agony and pain, Christ remained obedient to God the Father even unto death...perfectly fulfilling His mission on earth, His blood a ransom for our sins, making us white as snow.  The prophet Zechariah says this about Christ, "Jeshua's clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel.  So the angel said to the others standing there, "take off his filthy clothes."  And turning to Jeshua he said, "See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes."  Then I said, "They should also place a clean turban on his head."  So they put a clean priestly turban on his head and dressed him in new clothes while the angel of the Lord stood by...Listen to me, O Jesuah the high priest, and all you other priests.  You are symbols of things to come.  Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.  Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets.  I will engrave in inscription on it, say sthe Lord of Heaven's Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day."  Zechariah 3:3-5, 8-9

Zechariah wrote this prophecy around 520 B.C. - many hundreds of years before Jesus Christ walked the earth!  Jeshua was Israel's high priest during the return of the Israelites to Jerusalem after being exiled from the land.  The Greek name for Jeshua is Jesus, which means, "The Lord Saves."  This passage had a double meaning.  Jeshua represents the Israelites.  His filthy clothes represents the sins of the Israelites, the reason they were overcome by their enemies and exiled from their homeland.  The clean clothes represents God's forgiveness of their sins, their restoration and redemption.

However, this passage also states that Jeshua is a symbol of things to come...of the coming Messiah who completely change the way God deals with peoples' sin.  Jesus Christ, the Branch, is the ONLY ONE who satisfied not only all of Zechariah's prophecies of the Messiah, but ALL of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah.  And in fulfilling prophecy, Christ removed the sins of the 'land' in a single day, offering Himself as sacrifice for sin so that everyone who repents and believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Now, my question to you is this:  what are you wearing?  Filthy rags of sin, or new clothes of righteousness?  Christ suffered greatly and died to pay the price of your sins - so why are you still wearing filthy rags?  God's forgiveness and mercy is so very big and wide - He chooses to save us in spite of our sin.  Ask God to remove your sinful rags and clothe you in His righteousness and goodness.  Simply turn away from sin, ask His forgiveness, and  ask Christ to come into your heart as your Lord and Savior.  HE was BEATEN for YOU!  He BLED for YOU!  HE DIED for YOU!  You can not save yourself, only He can. So what will it be? Filthy rags or new clothes?

In His Love, Cathy