Chris Wright - The Radical Reconciler: Lent in All the Scriptures

All the royalties from this book have been irrevocably assigned to Langham Literature. Langham Literature is a ministry of Langham Partnership, founded by John Stott. Chris Wright is the International Ministries Director.

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Chris Wright, 2019

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version (Anglicized edition). Copyright 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. niv is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

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Extract from Third Eucharistic Prayer Rite A in The Alternative Service Book 1980 is copyright The Central Board of Finance of the Church of England 1980. Used by permission. copyright@churchofengland.org.

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First published 2019

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ISBN: 9781783599448

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It is finished!

These were almost the very last words that Jesus spoke from the cross (see John 19:30). Actually, it was probably more like a shout or the closest he could get to a shout as he approached an agonizing death.

But what did Jesus mean? He meant much more than merely, Its over at last. This was a cry of achievement, of mission accomplished. Jesus was not just stating the obvious his life was coming to an end. There could be no other outcome once you were nailed to a cross, though it could take days for that gruesome ending to come. No, Jesus was affirming that something had now been conclusively completed. This was a moment in history. He had accomplished what he had come to earth to do.

Now it has to be said that people dont normally talk about their impending death as their greatest achievement in life. Yet that is exactly what Jesus is doing. After those six hours of agony on the cross, whose physical and spiritual depth we cannot begin to fathom, Jesus knows that his task is complete. The victory is won. God the Son has accomplished once and for all in history what God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit had planned for all eternity.

And what exactly had the cross of Christ accomplished? What was finished as Jesus died?

The answer will immediately rise to your lips, if you are a Christian believer. Jesus accomplished my salvation. Jesus died for me , bearing my sin and its consequences, so that I can be forgiven, be reconciled to God and receive eternal life, a share in the kingdom of God and the assured prospect of resurrection bodily life with him in the new creation.

Wonderful, heart-warming, life-transforming gospel truths! We look forward to celebrating them again at the end of Lent, when we arrive once again at Easter. And the glorious personal assurance that flows from the cross of Christ resonates through the centuries, of course, in the reinforcing lyrics of countless hymns and spiritual songs that we will sing.

But, having articulated that liberating personal truth with gratitude and rejoicing, we have not said all there is to be said about what Christ accomplished. Not even the half has been told far, far from it. When we explore the meaning of the cross in the light of the whole Bible, and especially through the ways the New Testament writers speak of it, we stand absolutely amazed at the cosmic scale and scope of what Christ accomplished there.

In this comprehensive and exciting biblical journey through Lent, we will explore the following six great dimensions.

Through the cross,

• evil powers are defeated and their prisoners liberated, and ultimately all evil will be destroyed, on the basis of what Christ suffered here;
• death is destroyed, and life and immortality are brought to life;
• God bore in his own self the cost and consequence of human sin so that sinners can be forgiven;
• God made peace, and enemies are reconciled;
• history is brought under the governance of the Lamb who was slain;
• the whole of creation has been reconciled to God.

It is finished! cried Jesus. And that means everything. Every dimension of Gods redemptive plan for his whole creation was accomplished at the cross. And then God authoritatively vindicated his Son and proclaimed his victory to all creation by raising Jesus from the dead. Jesus accomplished the radical reconciliation of all things in heaven and on earth, through his blood shed on the cross. He is, as our title says, The Radical Reconciler.

So, as we journey through Lent, we shall prepare for Easter by reflecting on these great dimensions of the accomplishment of the cross. We shall begin each week on the successive Sundays in Lent with a reading from Scripture and an extended quotation from John Stott. Most of these will be taken from his classic book The Cross of Christ . If you havent encountered this book yet, then I hope that this series of meditations will whet your appetite to get hold of it and nourish your own soul with its rich diet of biblical truth. John Stott always said it was the most important book he ever wrote (of more than fifty!), and I think he was right. I read it again myself after many years, in preparation for this book, and it was so, so, refreshing!

And then, in the remaining days of each week, we shall explore one of those six great accomplishments of the cross through a variety of scriptures from both Testaments. I think youll find that youll need to keep your Bible open after reading the set Bible passage, as we work through each daily meditation. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. So, after an initial reflection from John Stott on the meaning of self-denial a prominent theme in Lent we shall anticipate Easter with three meditations on the gospel narratives surrounding Christs death.