The Greatest Act of Love
GOOD FRIDAY • April 10, 2020
By Pastor Tim Shaw
Touching the Void is the story of two men who set out to climb Siula Grande, a 20,000-foot mountain in Peru. Both men make it to the summit. But on their way down the mountain, one of the two climbers loses his footing, falls, and breaks his leg. To make matters worse an intense storm engulfs them. The only thing they can think to do is to lower the guy with the broken leg down the face of the mountain. No one can help them. They're on their own.
As the injured climber is lowered down the snow-covered slope, his friend accidentally lowers him over the side of a cliff. The storm is so fierce that they can't hear or see one another. As the injured man goes over the edge, his weight and momentum start to pull his friend faster and faster down the face of the mountain. After exerting tremendous effort, the one lowering his friend is finally able to stop their out-of-control slide. They still can't see or hear one another as wind and blinding snowfall prevent them from making contact. The man lowering his friend down the mountain assumes that his friend is now dangling over a cliff. He has no idea how far off the ground his climbing partner is. They hang there for an hour. The climber who is holding his friend on the mountain does not have the strength to pull his friend back up to where he is or even back over the edge of the cliff. He knows that both of them are going to die if they stay there.
After an hour of trying to rescue his friend, the healthy climber remembers that he has a small knife in his pack. He knows that the only way to save himself is to cut his friend loose. So he pulls out the knife, opens it up and places the blade next to the taut rope that is being stretched by the weight of the climber hanging off the cliff. The reenactment of this scene in the film is really intense. As one friend hangs helplessly over the cliff, the other friend puts the blade of the knife against the rope and cuts his friend loose. His friend falls 150 feet, breaking through a layer of snow, and falls into a crevasse. His friend knew that he had to cut his climbing partner loose if he was going to save himself.
On the day we now call Good Friday, Jesus’ friends cut Him loose in order to save themselves. Judas and Peter, two of Jesus’ disciples, had to make a decision similar to the one made on the side of that mountain. You can read about it in Luke chapter 22. In fact most of Jesus’ disciples make the same decision. To save themselves, they cut Jesus loose. With the exception of many of the women who were a part of Jesus’ band of followers, most of His disciples cut their ties with Jesus when they realize it could cost them their own lives if the authorities discovered their association with Him. Recognizing that threat, Jesus’ friends cut Him loose.
That was a tremendous loss for Jesus. He lost the companionship of His friends in His darkest hour. But there is more. For all of eternity, God the Father and God the Son had never been separated. But on the cross, Jesus suddenly cries out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” As Jesus takes upon Himself the sins of the world, our sins, God the Father cuts Him loose. This was our Triune God’s plan to rescue us. God the Son would willingly take on the consequences of our failings, and carry them for us.
God loves us so much that He was willing to experience the fracturing of the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to be cut loose by everyone else in order to save you and me. Since Jesus loved us that much, there is nothing you and I could ever do that could separate us from the love of God that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord (see Romans 8:31-39).
On this Good Friday, I am praying that you will either discover and embrace this great truth for the very first time, or rediscover it and find rest in God’s great love for you. The cross of Jesus tells us that God will go to any length to rescue us, to forgive us, to have compassion on us, to help us when we’re afraid, to come to our aid when we don’t know what to do. On the cross, Jesus was cut loose by everyone, including His Father. He was cut loose so that you and I can live in an unbreakable relationship with God. And that relationship is available to you and me right now. All we need to do is say “Yes” to God’s gracious offer of forgiveness and receive His free gift of love.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You for walking the long, lonely path to the cross where You took upon Yourself all of our sins. You died in our place so that we might be forgiven of all our sins and have everlasting life in You. Thank You that we can trust You completely. You will never leave us, cut us loose or abandon us, no matter what happens. Help us to rest in Your unshakeable love and be at peace today. In Your Name we pray, Amen!
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