50 Reasons Why

Imagine for a moment, that you’re in the Himalayan mountain range. Not far from Everest. And as you gaze up at that vast mountain you’re simply blown away by its awesome power and dominance. Your eyes are drawn up to the peak. The pinnacle. The highest point on earth. And as you continue gazing, you’re simply blown away by its dominance.

But then you begin to wonder, “Have I seen the whole picture? What would look different if I were on the other side of the mountain? From how many angles would it be possible to view this majesty?”

The possibilities are endless. You could move closer or further away. You could take one step to the left or to the right. You could swing round to the north, south, east or west. You could take a helicopter ride or even travel into space and look down. And from every angle you would observe something different.

Whilst Everest itself always remains essentially the same, each viewing position would reveal some new glory in this mountain which you had never appreciated before.

And if that’s true of Everest, how much more is it true of the cross of Jesus Christ? If Everest is land’s pinnacle, the cross is history’s pinnacle. It is both the most horrifying and the most glorious event that has ever taken place. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, surrendered his hands to cruel nails, bearing our sins and dying in our place. Even the most stunning natural wonders will begin to lose their shine eventually. But the Saviour who died and rose has the power to thrill our hearts forever and ever. He never gets boring.

In his book ‘Fifty reasons why Jesus came to die’, John Piper, an American theologian and writer, outlines, in fifty short devotional readings, the Bible’s teaching concerning the achievements of the crucified Lord. These readings are like fifty ‘viewing positions.’ Fifty angles from which to view the pinnacle of world history.

For Good Friday this year we recorded fifty members of the Cornerstone congregation each reading aloud one of those reasons on a Zoom call. Our media team then edited the recording and produced an excellent video for the Good Friday service.

The aim of the video is to immerse us into the Easter story and to help us appreciate, from fifty different angles, the immense love of God ‘who gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’

Please feel free to watch, like and share.