Two thousand years ago the Son of God was delivered up to be crucified on a cross. Not long after, some in Jerusalem expressed amazement at Peter and John as they healed a lame man at the gate of the temple. Peter took the opportunity to address the gathering, and said:
“Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses” (Acts 3:12-15).
Peter later acknowledged the necessity of Christ’s sacrifice, saying, “But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled” (vs. 18). He then called on those present to “repent therefore, and be converted” (vs. 19).
While it was necessary for Christ to die on the cross, such a necessity in no way excused the harm done to him by those Jews, or by Pilate and the Romans who allowed his death. As Jesus said to his disciples in Luke 17:1, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!”
Equally disturbing is that through their actions, Christians may, as the scriptures say, “crucify again for themselves the Son of God.” The full text reads:
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame” (Hebrews 6:4-6).
In fact, there are several passages in the New Testament that reference the possibility of Christians delivering up Christ to the cross yet again. As noted in the text above, if Christians become stagnant in their profession, the danger of digression and apostasy are present. Such apostasy dishonors the sacrificial death of our Lord. By showing such a disregard for Jesus and his sacrifice the apostates are referred to as “crucify [-ing] again for themselves the Son of God.”
In 1 Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul raises another scenario where a child of God may be guilty of such calumny. In referring to the taking of the Lord’s Supper, Paul wrote:
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (vs. 26-28).
It seems that God places a great deal of importance upon rightly observing the death of our Lord.
Finally, the Hebrew writer again weighs in, this time in chapter 10, verse 26, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” This willful sin is described by the writer as trampling “the Son of God underfoot,” and counting “the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified a common thing” (vs. 29).
So by neglect, willful sin or undiscerning worship we may be guilty of the same thing the Jews were guilty of when they cried out, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (Luke 23:31). God expects a great deal of His children, both in the lives that we live, and the worship we offer up to Him. We must take it seriously as well. Remember, as you sit in the assembly today, you are in the presence of the Almighty God of heaven. Your attitude and demeanor must express the awe and reverence you feel for Him.
