SCRIPTURE: Ezekiel 24
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart’s desire, and their sons and daughters as well— on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news. At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.” [Ezekiel 24:25-27]
Wow, what a difficult assignment for Ezekiel; not only did he have to warn about the terrible judgment coming, he also had to experience the death of his wife… and to not grieve openly about it!
He had to remain quiet, he had to hold his tongue and keep it in, until everything was accomplished, then he could let it all out.
This seems bizarre and unimaginable; the only way I can make some sense of it is to remember that extreme circumstances that God was dealing with.
Things had degenerated so far that God needed bizarre communication techniques to get through to them – and they still didn’t get it.
God was planting an extreme image in their mind, so that they would somehow see!

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 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 15:37-39]
We have grown so familiar with the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus that we fail to see what a bizarre and extreme message it is.
Things had degenerated so far that God needed bizarre communication techniques to get through to them – and they still didn’t get it.
When they were falsely accusing Jesus, He had every right to defend Himself, He had every right to burst out in anger and frustration… but He remained silent.
He was a sign to the people of God’s coming judgment on sin.
When at last the moment of judgment comes, Jesus finally cries out.
And the man at the foot of the cross finally gets it, the message gets through, he understands the sign – “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

The message of the cross is not only a message about God’s mercy, it is also a message about how serious sin is, how messed up the world and it’s inhabitants have become.
Our sin – individually and corporately – is not minor, it is extreme!
The cross is a sign to us and all people, reminding us about Who God is.
Like Ezekiel, Jesus is a living parable, an extreme message to us!
Do we get it, do we see it, are we so messed up that we are blind to it?
It is not until God steps in and shakes things up (as He did with the temple) that finally people wake up.

This is holy week, when we recall the bizarre and extreme message of God’s Son dying on cross.
Will this impact me enough to shake me out of my complacency and lukewarmness and apathy to God, to sin, and to judgment and my need for mercy?

PRAYER:
Lord, help me not to miss the point this week. May the extreme message of the cross convict and challenge me to repent and renew my devotion to You.