DAILY MUSINGS ON THE GOSPEL.

Many of us have heard it said that the gospel is for the unsaved and the saved. It sounds self-explanatory: of course, it is for believers. We had to believe the gospel to be saved! For those of us who grew up in a Christian home, going to church, we don’t even blink: we know that story like it’s the back of our hand. But do you? Do I?

We go to our Easter services. Some of us even practice Lent. We teach Sunday School, attend youth, tell our non-church friends that Jesus loves them. We put Jesus on our Insta bio and watch TikToks of famous preachers saying gospel things. We know know the gospel… don’t we?

This week, I read the passages of Mark on Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection. The cross: the foundation of our faith. I had spent two months studying the life of Jesus in the gospel of Mark, and it culminated in this ultimate act of sacrifice. And as I read it, I had to reread it, and my eyes kept catching on the little details.

In the garden.
“And He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death.’”
Jesus in Gethsemane, telling His disciples to pray, pleading with the Father for another way, yet willingly submitting Himself to the will of the Father.

At the arrest.
“And they all left Him and fled.”
Christ, alone. Christ, who had come down to earth. Christ, who had it all, giving it up to the point of death. Christ, the name above all names, the Alpha and Omega, who deserves all the power and glory. Christ, who is gentle and lowly, who seeks His sheep, knows them by name. Christ, who had calmed the sea, healed the sick, cast out the demons, raised the dead, taught them the Scriptures, fed the hungry, touched the leper - alone, left behind, abandoned by the very people He had seen, served, saved.

During the trial.
“Pilate asked, ‘Why? What evil has He done?’ But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!”
Innocent and perfect Lamb of God, given up for us, what had He done wrong? Nothing.

Before the crucifixion.
“They dressed Him up in purple” and “after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on His head” and “They kept beating His head with a reed” and “they led Him out to crucify Him.”

This is Jesus. He endured that for you. For me. He is God, He did not need to subject Himself to this, but He did. Jesus knew in the garden, He knew during the trial - He knew what this would mean. Every strike of the reed staff, every lash from the whips, every mocking bow - the King of kings submitted Himself to that in order to redeem His people.

On the cross.
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

This cry always gets me - and not because it’s in red ink on my page. This is Jesus, enduring the wrath of God that we deserve, the separation from God that sin’s consequences evoke, and we never have to feel this. We never again need to feel far from God. Jesus is the Way, our Redeemer, the Atoning Sacrifice, our perfect High Priest. The veil that had separated us from the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God resided, was torn. We can now enter into His presence. We are promised forever with Him.

This is the gospel. The coming of the kingdom of God. This is Jesus, the King who died for His people, who rose again on the third day, who sits at the right hand of the Father, who has gifted us His righteousness, who intercedes for us, who is always with us. And one day, the King will return, and the presence of God will be with us for all eternity.

So, why do we need to know the gospel?

I am the ultimate church kid. I helped in the nursery, taught Sunday School with my mum, knew my doctrinal stance on every tertiary topic under the sun by the time I was 14,  idolized missionaries, and knew all the characteristics of a Biblical woman. If anyone should have known the gospel, it would’ve been me. But I only really came to know who Jesus was when I was older.

I need the gospel to remind me that God’s heart is love, a holy love. I need the gospel to remind me of what Jesus endured for me. To remind me that my sin is washed away, and along with it the shame that keeps me from being close to Christ. I need the gospel to remind me that I do not know everything, that my heart wanders all to quickly, that my brokenness can be healed in Christ. The gospel gives me purpose: I am God’s, and He is mine. I am His servant, His child, His sheep. And what a King, Father, and Shepherd I belong to.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHRISTI VILJOEN is a Children’s Ministry Coordinator at Central Church. She is the behind-the-scenes at Revolution.