A very proper custom it is of the Church on earth to direct her attention to the passion and death of her Saviour in the weeks preceding Easter, the so-called lenten season. Proper this custom is, because the vicarious suffering of the Lord must needs occupy a central place in the consciousness of faith, and in the preaching of the gospel. On the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ depends all our salvation. In this respect, the name of Jesus is quite different from any other name. Other names are remembered by men because of the illustrious lives and mighty deeds they represent; the name of Jesus is a perpetual object of grateful adoration especially because of the great significance of His death. There is power in that death of Christ, power of redemption, power of forgiveness and eternal righteousness, the power of everlasting life and glory. Of a mere man, it is sometimes said that his life was a great blessing for the world, that the world would be much the worse had he not lived and labored; but of the Saviour it is true that He would have no significance at all if He had not died. For, had He not died, He would not have risen. And, if He is not raised, our faith is vain, we are yet in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). And, therefore, we are not surprised that the Church never grows weary of concentrating her attention upon the cross of Jesus, and contemplating, by faith, the suffering of her Lord. In the cross of Christ, she glories. To her, the Word of the cross is a power of God unto salvation.
From: the opening paragraph of the sermon, “Laying Down His Life,” (John 10:17), included in the volume, When I Survey…: A Lenten Anthology by Herman Hoeksema (Grand Rapids: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 1977), pp. 63-64. This volume is a collection of 57 sermons previously published in separate volumes from 1943 to 1956.
Hermen Hoeksema (1886-1965) was a Reformed minister, theologian, and author.
