Scripture tells us about moments when divine judgment has come upon the earth. The prophets of old pointed forward to these moments of judgment and called them “the day of the Lord.”

The prophet Amos said, “Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light” (Amos 5:8).
The prophets tell us that without God’s mercy no one would survive these moments of judgment; no one would survive because all are guilty of sin. The cross was just such a moment. A moment in which God came to collect the debt that was owed him. On that day, almost 2,000 years ago, sin would be dealt with, one way or another, and for those who believe, once and for all.

Picture it. Roman guards torturing Jesus, God’s chosen one, while – unknown to them – judgment was gathering in the sky. Laughter came from the earth below; one of the guards had created a crown of thorns and placed it on the head of God’s Christ. Others had stripped him naked and were casting lots for his clothing. Above them twelve legions of angels watched, waiting for Jesus to speak, ready to pour out the wrath of God on all humankind. Below, the priests mocked Jesus as the cross was raised up and dropped into the ground. Finally Jesus spoke. All of heaven was silent, waiting for his command, but Jesus said, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

The verdict was in: “Mercy!” Our debt was cancelled as the sins of all the world were transferred to Jesus and punished on the cross.

MATTHEW 18:23-35
Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’

“The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

On the cross Jesus took the debt we could not pay, and paid it in full. As children of God, justified by the blood of Christ, we live in response to his grace and mercy. We love as he loves us, and we forgive as he forgives us. We are new creations, reflections of his love, and living examples of his mercy.

We represent his Kingdom. We proclaim his mercy and we point forward to the day he will return to judge the living and the dead, the day of the Lord.

By Troy Tysdal

Troy Tysdal is Church Resource Coordinator for the Church of the Lutheran Brethren and serves as associate pastor at Stavanger Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls, MN.