Two Pairs of Arms — Two Totally Different Messages
Unless you pay absolutely no attention to current events, you know about the recent attempted assassination of former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump. I’m fairly certain that all of us have seen multiple videos and pictures from almost every angle imaginable.
While one of those videos was playing (again) and I was watching (again), I noticed something that I had not noticed earlier. For just a few seconds, I could see the upper torso of one man in the crowd assembled on the ground in front of the platform. It seemed to me that everybody else was focused on what was happening on the platform or looking around to see where the shots might have come from and/or whether there were going to be any more of them.
Not this guy. Seemingly, he knew exactly where the television cameras were located, turned toward them (away from the platform), and was excitedly waving his arms.
Apparently, he saw this as his chance to be on national television. It was his chance to be noticed. It was his opportunity to be able to brag to his family and friends (and anybody else who would listen) about the fact that he was there when all of this happened. On top of all of that, his moment or two of notoriety would be documented in a way that would remove all doubt about the fact that he was there. I suppose that, as long as YouTube or other similar sources exist, he can be seen.
As I’ve seen replays of that event on television and have “replayed” it in my mind, I cannot keep from thinking about another pair of arms. These arms did not move because the hands of Jesus were fastened to a rough piece of wood that served as a portion of the cross upon which He died.
If Jesus had been anybody else, it would be appropriate to say that the nails were the reason that His arms did not move. He was/is not “just anybody else.” He is the One described in these words we sometimes sing:
He left the splendor of heaven
Knowing His destiny
Was the lonely hill of Golgotha
There to lay down His life for me.
If I understand the message of the Bible at all, it seems to me that the mind of Jesus during those excruciating hours (not seconds) on the cross was on two interconnected things. He was intent upon doing the will of His Father and dying as a sacrifice for our sins. That, not the nails, is what kept Him on the cross.
One pair of arms waved because the person doing the waving seemingly was thinking primarily of himself. The other pair of arms could not move because Jesus had a totally different mindset.
You may remember that the apostle Paul wrote about Jesus leaving heaven in order to come to earth as an humble servant and to give Himself as the sacrifice for our sins in Philippians 2:6-8. Those verses are not meant to be a short summary of the mission of our Lord. They are a part of a challenge given to us.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 2:5)
As we think about all of this, we might also keep in mind something another apostle was inspired to write.
…God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5)
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
