The Mel Gibson movie, "The Passion of the Christ", has brought up the important question, "who killed the Christ?" Before I give my thoughts on this question, let's look at the concept, application, and use it in regard to racing.
Everyone involved in racing a vehicle uses the off season as a time of preparation. One of the things we do is the updating of our karts. We know needed maintenance won't change performance, but will eliminate mechanical failure. For me this will be bearing replacement and engine rebuilding. My attempt at performance improvement will be new body work for better aerodynamics, hopefully giving me more top end. The question is, will it? It will be answered only by application. Take it to the race track and test, and compare to past data making sure conditions also line up. From here let's look at the movie, "The Passion of the Christ", with the thought in mind of application.
Who killed the Christ? Was it the Jews, the Romans or was it everybody? For my answer I would like to go to Genesis 22. There God tells Abraham to take his long awaited son Isaac, whom he loved, and sacrifice him on a mountain as a burnt offering. Abraham in obedience takes his son, prepares him for the offering and as he is about to slay his son with a knife, an angel calls out to Abraham, "Do not lay a hand on the boy". Before this had happened Isaac had asked, "Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham's answer, “God will provide the lamb". Who killed Jesus? God provided the lamb. It took someone without sin to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world.
The application is clear. Isaiah 53:6-7 says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth, he was led like a lamb to the slaughter." God's remedy for my sin and yours was the sacrifice of his son. God gave His son to pay the price for the sin of the world.
If you have seen the movie you witnessed the portrayal of a crucifixion. It's as if we are actually there and what happened is not erasable from our minds. Can you apply what happened there to your own life? Were you the reason that Jesus died on the cross? This application in my life saved and changed me many years ago. You, too, can tell the Father now, "I am the reason, the guilty one, for the sacrifice of your son the innocent one. I trust in what he did as the only means for the forgiveness of my sins. Thank you, Jesus, from my heart for being my Savior and Lord. Amen"
