A few years ago my youngest daughter and her husband bought me a copy of, The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. In the prayer, Love Lustres At Calvary, I came across an unexpected tutorial in how to move from the cross of Christ to the benefits His death provides.

I find that these kind of examples help me connect text to Christ to some element of salvation contained in the text.

In that prayer there are 18 “that I might” statements. In general they’re like: Christ died “that I might” experience some benefit of His death.

Here are a few of them to give you a sense of what this move might sound like:

“Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy,

cast off that I might be brought in,

trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend,

surrendered to hell’s worst that I might attain heaven’s best,

stripped that I might be closed,

wounded that I might be healed,

athirst that I might drink,

tormented that I might be comforted…” (pp. 76-77)

I have found that this kind of formula helps me know what to look for in a preaching portion. The text contains some link to Christ-crucified and that link moves me to a “that I might…” statement of an element of salvation.

Watch your congregants’s faces reflect their gratitude to God for providing His Son. The author of the prayer states,

“All this transfer thy love designed and accomplished; Help me to adore thee by lips and life.” (p. 77)

Not only do cross-eyed readings like this illicit faith-first response to the text, but they also urge our listeners to love God more.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we perform cross-eyed readings each Sunday.

Randal

Confession: the crucifixion narratives have proven to be my most difficult preaching portions in the New Testament.

I don’t like admitting that because so much of our Christian faith rests on the crucifixion of Christ. But, for as long as I have been preaching and teaching preaching, these lengthy narratives have plagued me.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. The emphasis is on Jesus’ identity. Luke 22 and 23 contain Jesus’ Passion. A fast reading of those chapters will show that Jesus’ identity is always in focus (e.g., “If you are the Christ, tell us” in 22:67 or, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” in 23:37). Evidently, God knew the Church needed to be absolutely sure of who Jesus was/is. There can be no doubts about His identity if He is going to be able to deliver us from our sins.

Also note that in Luke’s gospel, for instance, the crucifixion narrative confirms what began in the pre-birth and birth narratives. Only after His identity is settled does the next focus of the Passion narratives mean anything…

2. Then, Luke emphasizes Jesus’ ability to “save.” Luke 23:35, 37, and 39 three different sets of people–people, soldiers, and a criminal–tell Him and taunt Him to save himself. And, in v. 43 we see Jesus saving one: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Sounds like a good evangelistic message, except for the fact that it’s written to the saints. And our responsibility is to make sure professing Christians know Jesus’ identity and are placing their trust in Him. We help them assess whether or not they’re experiencing a bit of Paradise now through the Spirit’s renovating work. We help them worship the gracious God who crucified His own Son so we could live LifePlus.

Preach well for His glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal