Magnitude 10.0

See now the Cross

“You who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.”

Isaiah 51:17

“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

Matthew 20:22

I recently experienced a profound jaw-dropping moment as I contemplated the fierce outrage and unrestrained fury of God’s wrath aimed at me and my countless sins, all laid upon Jesus during His horrifying crucifixion. Then, like a bolt of lightning, came this bone-chilling ripple of fear as it hit me; it wasn’t just my sins that weighed Him down but also the vast, collective burden of sins, gross and grievous, hellish and idolatrous, of all believers throughout history, throughout the ages, generations past, present, and future. Those who have existed, who now walk this earth, and are yet to be born. That is a massive sum of sin, which means it must have been an enormous, expansive, immeasurable volume of God’s wrath that surged and billowed upon Jesus.

The colossal intensity of it, if measured by a seismograph, would be a magnitude 10.0. I was speechless! Who, but Jesus, could withstand such an earth-shaking, staggering burden? It’s no wonder that beads of sweat and drops of blood streamed from His body. A body knitted to perish. A soul fashioned for destruction. What a poignant reflection it became of the immense suffering He endured for me, for you, for all. In that moment, I found nothing in this world capable of comparing to such extraordinary and extravagant, costly love, nor such a monumental sacrifice. I sat, teary-eyed in speechless Awe!

To think that Jesus, fully aware of the horrific torment He would face as our sin-bearer, chose to drink from that cup, foaming and overflowing with the searing wrath of God, with a purposeful intention, to love us to the end. He drank that bitter cup for us, His enemies, so that he could extend to us a cup, foaming over with God’s forgiveness and love!

No hardened heart can remain untouched or ensnared by sin and the transient allure of this world when the Holy Spirit enlightens our understanding to grasp the incredible depths, towering heights, and expansive lengths of the priceless love of Jesus.