The Carpenter’s Son
Your Victory From the Jaws of Defeat
by
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Humanity craves power whereas God gives his up. The God who has freely chosen to love and rescue us is the same one to enter into our suffering by becoming suffering himself. Paul writes that Jesus didn’t just pay for our sins; rather, Jesus became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus about the snake lifted up in the wilderness to save the Israelites represents this notion. That is, to look upon what is killing you (sin that leads to death) to save you. He didn’t just come to die the death we were supposed to die, he came to take the defeat we consequentially suffered, and in doing so, hand us a victory that was only his to keep.
Paul writes of a God (Ephesians 4:8–10) who descended then ascended leading captives in his train (a verse from Psalm 68:18), commonly phrased: “He led captivity captive” (KJV). Writing to the Colossians (2:13–15), Paul reiterates this idea that God took what had defeated us and defeated it on the cross; the authorities and powers of sin and death were themselves put out to open shame. This is the mystery of divine redemption, how God left his kingdom to rescue ours.
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About the Book
What is humanity’s ultimate destiny? Could there be life beyond the grave? What is genuine spirituality? These questions and many more are answered by a carpenter’s son, Jesus, born in ancient Judaea two thousand years ago. He healed thousands, yet never received medical training. He taught in streets, homes, and temples, yet never achieved scholarly status. He demanded perfection, yet chose the imperfect to follow him. He spoke of the arrival of an eternal kingdom, yet he never ran for political office or led a nation. He spoke of peace and love, yet led the greatest counter-revolutionary effort in human history.
Despised by his critics and revered by society’s lowest members, Jesus still speaks to our deficiencies as well as our weaknesses, and assures a redemption we could never achieve on our own. Out of an original rebellion, we all face a self-imposed defeat by pointlessly attempting to establish our own kingdoms despite confronting the same abysmal fate. Yet, God has achieved the greatest comeback in history by conquering death, and in doing so, has prepared for us a victory we could not possibly imagine, for to lose all is to gain all.
About the Author
Ron has been interested in philosophy, religion, and spirituality most of his life. With a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics and Asian Studies, and Masters degrees in Non-Fiction Writing and Studies in Religion, Ron draws on years of learning to uncover the relevance and urgency of the historical Jesus who still cries out from the gospels to our world in turmoil. Ron presently teaches English and literacy in Southeast Asia.