Jesus' Epic Expedition

EVER HEARD THE STORY OF THE MOST EPIC EXPEDITION EVER UNDERTAKEN?

It’s not William Edward Parry’s harrowing voyage to the North Pole in 1827. Nor is it Edmund Hillary’s costly ascent of Mount Everest in 1953. It’s not even the 1969 lunar landing of Apollo 11. One expedition eclipses all of these.

It happened two thousand years ago when Almighty God made the cosmic trek from heaven to earth to rescue those he loved.

NO PLAYWRIGHT HAS EVER DREAMED UP A STORY AS EPIC AS THIS ONE.

The hero is Jesus Christ, God’s divine Son, the God-man. Those he loves are lost and in grave danger. They’ve fallen into a pit so dark and consuming that it has become impossible for them to ever find their way out. Tragically, it’s a chasm of their own making, the result of their willful rejection of God. Still, Jesus loves them, despite their treachery.

HE KNOWS THAT UNLESS HE RESCUES THEM, THEY WILL PERISH.

So he launches a one-man search and rescue operation. His search takes him into the depths of darkness. He will not be deterred. For him, this is not just about rescue. It’s about reconciliation. It’s about reunion.

ULTIMATELY, IT WOULD COST GOD'S SON HIS LIFE, MAKING IT THE MOST EXPENSIVE SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATION EVER UNDERTAKEN.

In what has become the most stunning display of sacrificial love the world has ever known, the King of Glory willingly gave his life to save those he loves. “Greater love has no one than this,” he said, “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

BUT THAT’S NOT THE END OF THE STORY.

Three days later this divine hero rose triumphantly from the grave, demonstrating his invincible power and incomparable love.

What makes this so unforgettable is not just that it’s a true story. What makes it so compelling is that it’s our story. We are the ones the Son of God came to save. We are the ones for whom he died. We are the ones he intends to reconcile to himself.

JESUS, THE CHRIST, CAME TO CALL US OUT OF HIDING.

He came to forgive us. To heal us. To redeem and restore us. He calls us to humble repentance and faith, to trust him as our Savior and Master, that we might experience new life now and for all eternity. You see, this epic expedition of his is not complete until we join him in it—until we spend every day with him, learning from him, delighting in him, being transformed by him, laboring with him to reach others.

This is what discipleship is all about.

It begins with a willing reunion, when we receive Christ as our Savior.

“And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”

— Charles Wesley