Irony Was In The Air!

By Kendall Lankford

As Jesus hung dying on a Roman cross, irony was in the air. While human life began in a beautiful Garden, today Jesus sat in His garden knowing that His life was going to end. While God provided a companion for the lonely Adam, Jesus sat alone. While Adam enjoyed a blissfully happy relationship with God, Jesus cried out in agony. Yet, while Adam chose the easy path by listening to the serpent, Jesus chose the hard road by following God.

While Adam sought to know all things through fruit instead of through relationship, Jesus really knew all things because of His relationship with God. While Adam sought the short cut through the Garden, Jesus was the only man who ever walked faithfully through His Garden!

And what gain was that for Christ? For being the only faithful man?

We see that while God had held back the flaming fiery swords from the fallen Adam, the men with flaming torches and swords now came against the Son of God! While Adam had crimes that he was surely guilty for, this Jesus was going to die for crimes He had not committed. And worse, from the hands of men who claimed to know the Father! While the guilty man was given grace, the innocent man was given wrath!

The Irony Continues...

The thorns that were shoved down deep into His scalp were the very same thorns that grew outside of the Garden of Eden. Not because the thorns were so wonderful and beautiful that God would have naturally included them in His creation, but because of the sin and rebellion of Adam and Eve. By the sweat of their brow the thorns were to be removed, yet by the blood of Jesus' brow these same thorns had been placed.

As the whip slammed against His back, and the leather cords wrapped with bone and shards of glass penetrated His perfect skin, the agonizing and horrid picture began to form. And in the same manner that those sharpened fragments had entered, they were now being ripped out of it, pulling and yanking flesh and meat right along with it, completing that ghastly picture! And what is that?

That the very same Adam, who deserved this death, was given the skins of an animal to cover his shame. But the irony comes when we see that the one who knew not sin was being skinned alive! The only one on earth who needed no animal covering, was being treated like an animal in the way that he was uncovered. And, while Adam's sin was graciously covered up, Jesus was left naked, abused, and publicly ashamed!

If this were not bad enough, the same kind of whip that Jesus had woven together just days before was now being used against Him. While He had used it to cleanse the house of God from all uncleanliness, now the whip was in the hands of an unclean Roman soldier, bent on destroying God's true temple! Yes, irony was in the air!

Even the fact that Jesus Christ was nailed onto a wooden cross, screams of bitter horrifying irony! For while the one man Adam brought judgment upon the entire world through one tree, now this Jesus was taking all of it upon Himself on His tree! But unlike Adam who was given grace, the Son of God was given wrath!

And while he hung upon that cross, thirsting and suffering, the fruit of the vine in the form of wine vinegar was shoved into His face. But unlike Adam who ate liberally of the poisoned fruit, Jesus Christ would not partake of the sour wine! Yes Irony was in the air!

And while that sour spoiled wine dripped from His perfect lips, the Son of God had one last thing to say. He had just one message to all the world that had gathered around Him to watch Him die. On His last breath He said:

"IT IS FINISHED"!

And why would Jesus say it is finished? Not just because He triumphed so visibly over the areas where Adam failed; no, there is something more! Not just because He offers forgiveness; no there is something more! There was something far more incredible than even that!! See in Jesus Christ, the very serpent who deceived the man, was now being crushed at the foot of the cross!

Jesus' victory on this day, was not simply to be a better Adam, but He of course is that! Jesus' death was not simply offered to start the Church; He of course did that! Jesus' death on the cross was not only to offer forgiveness of sins, and yes, He graciously has done that!!

But even more incredible than all of that, is the fact that His death signaled the death of the entire old world system. His death began a process whereby the entire heavens and earth will be made new! His death forgave us our sins, while also taking us back towards a garden where we will once again be allowed to walk along with God!

This Jesus, walked in His garden to bring us back to the garden of God. By this man Jesus, every single thing that Adam lost, will soon come back through Him and Him alone! Yes, irony is in the air!

Revelation 22:1-5

22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.