The Naked Truth

When I was a teenager, I developed an interest in the Second World War. I had a book about the Nazis in which there were some black and white photos. One of these has always stuck in my mind. It showed a number of naked women, of various ages and sizes, moving between huts with uniformed German soldiers looking on. Although some seemed uninterested, others appeared to be disdainful, sneering and perhaps uttering lewd comments. How humiliated and vulnerable those women must have felt.

The first man and woman were created naked. They had no sense of shame or humiliation; they were innocent. After they had rebelled against the word God had spoken to them, they realised that they were indeed naked. Their primary concern was not to be seen in this state by God and they hid from him whilst at the same time attempting to put in place a cover-up (the proverbial fig leaves).

This account comes to us in the Old Testament part of the Bible. So is it relevant to us today? The New Testament says emphatically ‘Yes’. We are told, ‘No creature is hidden from God's sight. All are naked and exposed before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.’ Our thoughts, words and actions are all seen and known by God and we will each need to explain ourselves; any attempt at cover-up will be seen for what it is.

Can you feel the weight of this? Jesus presses the matter home saying, ‘You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.’ He is speaking spiritually as the doctor of our souls. Happily, with his diagnosis comes a cure.

On Good Friday, Jesus was tortured, stripped naked and humiliated. In that state he was crucified; there was no cover-up - not even a loincloth. He took on our shame, our nakedness, suffering on behalf of people like you and me.

When our souls are exposed before God and the bare truth revealed, we’ll need to give an account. The Christian can point to Jesus who took our nakedness and clothed us in his own goodness. We do not need to find fig leaves but to trust that Jesus has paid the price to put us right with God.

Awesome

A team of more than 150 scientists has mapped out how a tiny portion of a mouse’s brain tissue functions. The map showed 200,000 cells, 523 million synapses (the connections between neurons) and more than two miles of axons (the part of a neuron that passes on the electrical impulses). The vast number of interconnecting pathways that these impulses may route is mind-boggling! ‘It definitely inspires a sense of awe, just like looking at pictures of the galaxies’ said one of the project’s lead researchers.

It is natural to be in awe, but of what/whom are we in awe? Surely, the answer is our creator God rather than mere ‘chance’.

Job was an Old Testament character who needed to recognise his creator God. During a season of great suffering, quite understandably he bemoaned his lot and God’s treatment of him. Throughout his pain, perplexity, frustration and sense of injustice, he had not given up on God. Unhelped by his friends’ well-meant but empty counsel, he looked for his complaints to be answered by God.

Towards the end of his ordeal, God did answer Job but indirectly. In effect, he said to Job, ‘Instead of you questioning me, I will question you’. God got Job to look heavenwards to survey the stars and then earthwards to the animals and birds, from the greatest to the least. He had also to consider both the terrors and blessings that come from the weather. ‘Where were you Job when I set all of this up? Who was my counsellor? Can you do anything remotely like this? If not, why do you query me?’ I’m paraphrasing here. Job clasped his hand to his mouth and was silent. He was awestruck, he was humbled, seeing anew that God was God and he was not.

In the New Testament we read that creation is a self-revelation of God’s wisdom, power and glory, making our unbelief inexcusable. If this sounds unreasonable, then God has provided another way of revealing himself to us. He has taken on human form and entered into his creation as Jesus the Son of God. In him, we meet God up close and personal in a way that Job did not. In the gospel of Mark, we read of a needy man saying to Jesus, ‘Lord I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’. Amen.

The crucifixion of Jesus - horrific yet glorious

Why is it that Christians view the crucifixion of Jesus as both horrific and glorious?

Horrific, yes, but glorious also?

Nailing a criminal onto a cross is a barbaric form of execution. The Romans did it to

thousands of people. Two other men were crucified either side of Jesus but their

deaths could hardly be said to be of world changing significance as is the case with

the death of Jesus.

So, what is different about that man hanging upon the middle cross 2000 years ago?

In short, he acted as if he was God come to earth as man. It was his words, miracles

and purity of character that caused people to ask, ‘Just who is this man?’ - a prophet,

the awaited Messiah or even the Son of God? This was too much for the Jewish

religious leaders who, as guardians of the nation’s faith, couldn’t entertain such an

‘outsider’ challenging the status quo. They conspired to get rid of him. To do this they

needed to turn the masses against Jesus and to enrol the non-Jewish governing

authorities represented by governor Pontius Pilate. They succeeded and Jesus was

judicially murdered.

What was going on here is profound. With Jesus, both Jews and non-Jews came face-

to-face with the very character of God and decided such close proximity to him was

too uncomfortable.

At his sham trial, the people, by committing common sins (e.g. speaking half-truths,

hatred, faithlessness and irreverence), were key players in putting Jesus onto the

cross. We can say that he had to bear the sins of men and women through to death. To

judge and condemn God in Jesus Christ in this way is horrific.

There is another dimension to be told - a heavenly dimension. God, because of his

love for people, had preordained that this was how Jesus was to die. Stay with me

here. Contrary to what many people think, God is a just judge and today we are each

on the guilty sheet. From heaven’s perspective, Jesus was a pure, untainted sacrifice; a

scapegoat, offered so people like you and I needn’t remain condemned for our own

sins. Yes, Jesus died on behalf of others.

The message of Good Friday tells us to take to our hearts this amazing grace. This is

why Christians make such a big deal about the cross of Jesus and see it as glorious.