A top ten blockbuster! Mel Gibson’s controversial film “The Pas-

sion of Christ”, featuring Jim Caviezel, de-

picts Jesus’ last twelve hours of life on

earth. During this time, Jesus was interro-

gated and condemned by the religious estab-

lishment. Then, after an unfair trial by the

Roman authorities, he was executed, at the

crowd’s insistence. Lasting for two hours,

this film includes possibly the longest tor-

ture scene ever to appear on film. Yet it

does reflect how Jesus really died. He was

flogged, mocked and then killed by a pro-

longed, cruel, public execution on a cross.

What a waste? But why did Jesus die such an awful death,

in the prime of his life?

? Did he deserve to be punished? No one

could justify claims that Jesus was a crimi-

nal, since all his accusers could not success-

fully convict him of any wrong.

? Had he failed as a spiritual leader? Was

his peaceful lifestyle and philosophy no

match for his religious and military ene-

mies? If so why did he often tell his follow-

ers that he planned to suffer and die this

way?

? You might ask ”If Jesus died only as an

extravagant example of God’s love for us,

couldn’t God have done something more

practical for us instead, like build hospitals

or banish poverty?”

? Did Jesus suffer and die simply as an ex-

ample to show us how to suffer ourselves,

as a penalty for our own sins? If so, is he

really a Saviour? And is God really compas-

sionate, merciful and forgiving?

? And what about the countless people who

have been tortured and killed over the centu-

ries? Is Jesus’ death only special because he

is the Son of God?

! There must also be something more sig-

nificant about Jesus’ death, that can’t be

captured on film!

An amazing swap Jesus told his followers that he had come

into the world to suffer and die as a sacri-

fice for our sins.1 At the very beginning of

his ministry he was called “the Lamb of

God, who takes away the sin of the

world”.2 Jesus suffered Hell on the cross,

during the hours when he was separated

from God the Father, in order that we might

be able to one day enjoy Heaven.3 While

he was on the cross, “God made him who

had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him

we might become the righteousness of

God”.4 That is, he swapped sin for right-

eousness. Incredible though it may seem,

we can personally receive his blameless-

ness, and have a place secure in heaven, if

we sincerely trust him and accept it!5

Such love God’s sacrifice not only shows us how

much he loves us - it also shows how seri-

ously he takes sin. The good news is that if

we sincerely accept God’s loving mercy,

we don’t need to keep trying to achieve the

impossible - being good enough to qualify

for heaven.6

Why…? But if we keep trying to be good enough,

we are saying that Jesus death on the cross

cannot and has not taken away our sin. In

that case, the question remains unan-

swered – why was Jesus tortured and exe-

cuted on the cross?

To see where these truths are found, follow the

Bible references: 1Mark 8v31 & Philippians 2v6-11; 2John 1v29; 3Matthew 27v46; 42 Corinthians 5v21; 5Ephesians 2v8-9; 6Romans 3v19-24.

C o l i n G l e n C h r i s t i a n F e l l o w s h i p

Number 6, June 2004

Tortured and executed -Why?

1

Signs of freedom 2

Dirty laundry 3

‘The Passion of Christ’ 4

Derry GAA v MV Doulos 4

Inside this issue:

Cross alk Tortured and executed - Why?

50 reasons why Jesus was

crucified! - for a free copy, see the

back page for details.

If you’ve seen the film, or even if you haven’t, try reading the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, which record the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“By their fruit you will recognise them.

Do people pick grapes from thornbushes,

or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears

bad fruit.”

Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:16-17 NIV)

Page 2

Signs of freedom Two people were travelling from oc-

cupied France during the second

world war, from oppression and tyr-

anny to peace and freedom. After

travelling many miles, they were

close to Switzerland.

Borderline

One of them eventually came to a

border crossing by road. After the

documents were stamped with the

time and date, the white line in the

road was crossed. The momentous

day would be remembered for many

years.

Clocks and watches

The other person travelled across

country, but was soon not sure

whether they were in France or Swit-

zerland. Eventually, the surround-

ings appeared strange. The signposts

had Swiss names, the cars had differ-

ent number plates, and there was a

general atmosphere of safety and

peace. Although no passport had

been stamped nor white line crossed,

this was undoubtedly Switzerland.

Having travelled across mountains

and fields, the border had been

crossed somewhere.

Freedom cry! Only one of the two people knew the

exact date, time and place where

they entered into freedom. Yet, what

mattered most, was that both of them

were now free.

Passports for free

Jesus told us that he came to pro-

claim freedom for prisoners, to give

sight to the blind, and to release the

oppressed.1 While many people fo-

cus on where and when we accept

God’s wonderful gift, sometimes we

can’t point to a specific time and

place. But if we look at the signs in

our lives, we may be able to know

where we stand.

How can I be sure?

The Apostle John wrote “this is how

we know that we have passed from

death to life”2 – if our lives are char-

acterised by holiness,3 if we admit

our sins,4 obey the Lord’s com-

mands,5 love others and especially

Christians,6 love God most of all,7

accept Jesus as Lord and God,8 and

live a life of love.9 With these signs

in place, it doesn’t really matter

where and when we crossed into

God’s kingdom, but we can be sure

if we are there now.

1Luke 4v18-21, 21 John ch. 3v14, and 3ch. 1v6-7, 4ch. 1v9-10, 5ch. 2v3-6 & 3v21-24, 6ch. 2v9-11 &

3v14-15, 7ch. 2v15-17, 8ch. 2v23, 9ch. 4v16.

“Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made

clean again.”

Dag Hammarskjold

“It’s hard to be funny when you have to be

clean.”

Mae West

Page 3

Dirty Laundry I received an unexpected letter last

week. Although my solicitor had

known me for about 6 years he wrote

asking me to forward evidence of my

identity and address. He explained

that he was required to do so by the

new ‘Money Laundering Regulations

2003’ as I might be laundering ‘dirty

money’! In other words I might be

trying to make the proceeds of crime

appear to originate from a legitimate

source.

Cleaner needed—apply within! Isn’t it strange how we have come to

associate the word dirty with things

that are illegal or immoral and not sim-

ply physically dirty, and the word

clean with things that are good. For

example we say people have dirty

minds if they are always thinking in a

perverse or crude way or telling jokes

that make light of immoral or improper

conduct. On the other hand if we have

enjoyed a boxing match we might say

that it was a good clean fight.

Nothing new under the sun

Using the words dirty and clean in that

way of course isn’t new. When the

prophet Isaiah looked around him at

the society he lived in over 2,500 years

ago he felt forced to say “I am ruined!

For I am a man of unclean lips, and I

live among a people of unclean lips.”1

Just before he said those words God

had specially revealed himself and his

holiness to him when he was in the

Temple in Jerusalem. As a result,

Isaiah had become very conscious both

of his own sinfulness and the sin of his

people.

Fit for a purpose

But God didn’t show him these things

just to leave him in despair - he had a

purpose. He forgave Isaiah, washed

him of his sins, removed his guilt and

then sent to him out amongst his own

people to become one of the greatest

prophets that existed before Christ

came.

X - rated

Have you

ever felt

like Isaiah?

Perhaps you

have tried in

vain to find

a decent TV

programme

or have

lifted a

newspaper,

or scanned

books in a

bookshop and despaired at their con-

tent, finding yourself asking “Is this

the level our society has sunk to?” Or

maybe you have felt guilty about

something that you have done or that

others have done to you. If so, God is

speaking to you also and calling you,

like Isaiah, to come to him to be

‘laundered’, to be washed clean of

your sin and be given a new start.

Spiritual cleansing

John, the disciple who loved Jesus so

much, said that if we confess our sins

and walk in the light as he, Jesus, is

in the light then our sins will be for-

given and their stains washed away

by his blood.2 The apostle Paul when

writing to the young Christian Timo-

thy encouraged him to keep away

from those things that would make

him morally and spiritually ‘dirty’ so

that God could use him, just like a

chef or housewife picks up and uses

clean vessels but sets dirty ones to

one side.3

If you follow the advice given by

John and Paul you also could experi-

ence that wonderful feeling of for-

giveness and cleanness in God’s sight

that both they and Isaiah did. You

could also become God’s messenger

and servant too – God hasn’t

changed. 1Isaiah 6, v 1-8, 21 John 1, v 5-10 32 Timothy 2, v 20 & 21

Derry City GAA v MV Doulos

Derry City GAA club Doire Cholmcille was challenged by a multi-national team on 22nd May. Their B-team played Gaelic football against some of the volunteer crew from the visiting ship MV Doulos.

Ermias Worku from Ethiopia was thrilled to have been involved in a game of hurley too. He said that it was a great experience, but admitted that he was a little scared of the hurley sticks. The MV Doulos, two years younger than the Titanic, is the world’s oldest active passenger ship as well as the largest floating bookshop. It visits port cities throughout the world, supplying vital literature resources, encouraging inter-cultural understanding, training young people for more effective life and service, promoting greater global awareness, providing practical aid and sharing a message of hope in God wherever there is opportunity.

Three years ago, a team from their sister ship, MV Logos II, visited West Belfast for a week. As well as two memorable international evenings, the team helped distribute the first issue of this newsletter ‘Crosstalk’.

Open House Every Friday

We meet on Friday evenings for prayer, Bible study, with tea, coffee & a bite to eat too. Join us as we look into the Bible to see what we can learn from it, and how it is relevant to our lives today. Everyone is welcome - just turn up, or ring for more details. Every Friday 7.30-9.30 pm (except during July)

42A Cloona Park - Just off the Stewartstown Road roundabout.

The Uniqueness of Christianity

For a free copy of our tape “The uniqueness of Christianity”, or for an alternative tape in Gaelic, contact us by phone & email etc. You can listen to them both on our website.

Colin Glen Christian Fellowship

John & Elaine Duffy or Ken & Olive Allen c/o 42A Cloona Park Upper Dunmurry Lane Belfast BT17 0HH

Phone: (028) 90600323 Phone: 07870 184117 Email: info@cgcf.net Web: www.cgcf.net

www… on the Internet For past issues of ‘Crosstalk’, Christian web-site Links, free stuff, etc, go to: www.cgcf,net

See previous copies of ‘Crosstalk’, follow Christian links, and find out more (with some pages in Irish).

Jesus said: “He who believes in me,

as the Scripture has said, out of his

heart will flow rivers of living

waters.” John 7:38 NIV

The Uniqueness of

Christianity

(J.B. Nicholson)

The Passion of Jesus Christ 50 reasons why Jesus came to die - John Piper The most important questions anyone can ask are: Why was Jesus Christ crucified? Why did he suffer so much? What has this to do with me? Finally, who sent him to his death? The answer to the last question is that God did. The whole message of the Bible leads to this conclusion. Jesus was God's Son. His suffering was unsurpassed, but the central issue of Jesus' death is not how he died, but why. That is what this book is about. John Piper has gathered from the New Testament fifty reasons. Not fifty causes, but fifty purposes -in answer to the most important question that each of us must face: What did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?

For a free copy, write to: 42A Cloona Park, Upper Dunmurry Lane, Belfast BT17 0HH (while stocks last) Alternatively, phone 90600323 or email info@cgcf.net www.desiringgod.org/passion

Members of the MV Logos II team

in West Belfast during 2001.

www.mvdoulos.org www.mvlogos.org