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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman From
The Cross To The Throne I have been legally
blind from birth and have been unable to drive a car.
That means I've done a lot of walking in my life.
I was also born into the Methodist tradition and its old hymns,
like "Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross," often echo through my mind
as I walk the streets. Like
many who were raised as I was, the cross of Christ holds great
significance in my life, and for good reason.
That being said, I learned years ago that asking Jesus to keep me
near the cross is a bit Biblically problematic. I certainly understand
the metamorphic significance to asking Jesus to keep me near the cross,
but the cross of Christ is a one time historical event, never to be
repeated. I also realize that
the cross was never a Christian symbol until a few centuries after its
reality. So, laying aside the
metaphor and the symbolism, do I want to be near a cross where both the
cross and Jesus cannot be found? Don't get me wrong.
The cross of Christ has major eternal implications for everyone
everywhere, and that includes Jesus Himself.
One eternal implication of the cross can be seen in Jesus' ministry
right now as He sits on His universal throne.
He is our present-day atoning sacrifice, representing us to God on
our behalf, just as He did while He was on the cross (1 John 2:1 - 2).
His very presence before God expresses the ongoing reality that He
is still the sacrificial Lamb who died on the cross to remove our sins
from the heavenly record. For
that reason God's grace always flows in our direction, not from the cross
of Christ but from the throne of Christ.
Jesus is
the ultimate universal authority who will open the seven-sealed scroll
that brings this age to an end (Revelation 5:6).
In that passage He is portrayed as a sacrificial lamb, the very
Lamb of God. Even as Jesus
rules from His eternal throne, His very essence is an eternal expression
of the cross. If you could see
Him sitting on His throne right now, there would be something about Him
that reminds you of the cross.
Here is the Biblical
fact. Right now, in real time,
Jesus is the ultimate universal authority (Mathew 28:18).
In actuality, then, the precious fountain that we sing about in the
hymn "Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross" flows, not from I certainly get the metaphor and the symbolism of wanting to be kept near the cross, but personally speaking, I want to be kept near the throne.
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