“And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’”

(Mark 15:39).

The Roman centurion was the first human being to correctly identify Jesus in the gospel according to Mark. The Roman soldier had no other explanation for what he just witnessed than to confess that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.

Jesus is Lord.

Jesus is not your pal.

Jesus is not your partner.

Jesus is not your equal.

Jesus is Lord.

When we confuse this, we confuse all else.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Fantastic! That means that everything is going to be awesome…right?

Not so much.

If that’s the case, what does this verse mean?

Jesus tells us three things about life because of who he is.

First, we have peace in Christ. He is our peace. He is our joy. He is our comfort.

Secondly, in this world we will have trouble. People we love will get sick and die. We will get sick and die. Christians are not immune from the hardships and tragedies of this world. In this world, we will have trouble.

Lastly, take heart for Christ has overcome the world. Christian joy and peace is not negated by trouble and tribulation. Our circumstances may trouble us but they cannot destroy Christ’s peace or joy as long as our peace and joy is in Christ – in who he is, in how he loves us, in what he has promised us.

We will experience all the highs and lows of life that all human beings experience. However, because of who Jesus is, we can have peace and joy throughout all our days because of Jesus. We can experience grief but our grief cannot destroy peace as long as our peace is in Jesus.

That’s pretty good news. In fact, that’s pretty awesome news.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst” (Romans 8:15).

This is one of the most succinct and precise description of the gospel.

What is the gospel? The gospel is this: that we are sinners deserving God’s wrath and judgment. But God loves sinners, and sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for sinners.

The gospel is gospel – good news – because the starting point is that we are sinners who are dead in our sins. But God died for us because he loves sinners like us. Jesus came to die for sinners, not to celebrate their sin, but to rescue sinners from their sin.

This gospel is offensive to a world that has been told that they are perfect, just the way they are.
This gospel is offensive to a world that has been told that loving themselves is a virtue.
This gospel is offensive to a world that has been told that their hearts are always right.
This gospel is offensive to a world that has been told that there is nothing more important than them being happy.

If the starting point is that we are all good, and the job of the church is to help people discover the good that is already in them, why did Jesus die on the cross? Why did Jesus descend into hell? Why did Jesus rise again?

Jesus came to save sinners. That’s the good news. That’s the starting point. That’s the gospel.