The Gospel in Twenty Questions Read Online Free PDF Page A

discovering that dream and learning who you really are.
     

Who rescued us?
     
    If you were a first-century Jew
raised on a heavy diet of law and temple sacrifice, it would make sense to
describe the cross in the language of sacrifice, as is done in the epistle to
the Hebrews (see for example Hebrews 9:26, 10:12). But since you are not a
first-century Jew, it makes more sense to describe the cross as a rescue mission,
as Paul does when writing to the Gentiles.
     
    Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present
evil age, according to the will of our God and Father … (Galatians 1:3–4)
     
    The cross is not about
satisfying some bizarre need for blood. The cross is a rescue mission carried
out by the greatest team of superheroes in history, namely, God the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
     
    Giving thanks to the Father … for he has rescued us
from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he
loves. (Colossians 1: 12a, 13)
     
    Who rescued us? Paul told the
Galatians it was Jesus but told the Colossians it was God the Father. Which is
it? It was both of them working together. It was a joint effort. In the Garden
of Eden the Father delivered the threat, and on the cross the Son carried it
out.
    What about
the Holy Spirit? How does he figure in this rescue mission? Jesus tells us:
     
    The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has
anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the
oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18–19) 
     
    Who are the prisoners in need
of freedom? We are. Every single one of us. We are also the poor in need of
grace, the blind who sit in darkness, and the oppressed bruised by the shackles
of sin. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus to set us free. Where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
    Do you see
now why this religious emphasis on good or bad behavior is irrelevant? You can
be a good slave or a bad slave and it makes no difference at all. You’re still
a slave. A prisoner who reforms is still a prisoner. Inmates on death row don’t
get time off for good behavior.
    Jesus did not
come to institute a reform program for convicts. He came to proclaim liberty
throughout the land. Christ is our long-awaited year of jubilee. In Christ, the
enslaved sons of God are redeemed and get to go home.
     

What happened on the cross?
     
    The children of
Israel were enslaved and mistreated for 400 years. Their deliverance was a prophetic play that parallels
our own. In the play, the part of the deliverer was played by Moses, who is a
type of Jesus the Great Deliverer.
    Moses was
special because he was the only Hebrew not owned by Pharaoh. Moses was a free
man used by God to liberate a nation of slaves. Similarly, Jesus is special
because he’s the only human who wasn’t a slave. Since Jesus isn’t of Adam, he’s
not part of the slave race. This makes him an ideal savior. When you’re locked
up inside , you need help from outside , and Jesus is the very
definition of outside help . Jesus was constantly reminding people, “I am
not of this world” (John 8:23). He was saying, “Since I’m not part of the
Matrix I can help unplug you from the Matrix.”
    In the play,
Pharaoh represents the villain: the slaver called sin. You may recall that
Pharaoh had no desire to free the slaves. Moses said to Pharaoh, “ Let my people go.” Pharaoh replied, “It’s not going to
happen,” so God destroyed him. Pharaoh and his entire slave-based system were
crushed under the mighty hand of God. After the Red Sea, the Israelites had
nothing to fear from Pharaoh. He was dead, his army was drowned, and his
corrupt government was ruined.
    If
the destruction of Pharaoh seems over the top, it’s because God wanted to give
us a dramatic picture of what he