ya Rabbi Yesua, “O, my Lord Jesus” were the last words spoken by an Egyptian Christian before he was beheaded two months ago in Libya.
The Islamic State (ISIS) voice over on the video recording of this beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians triumphed, “recently you have seen us … chopping off the heads that have been carrying the cross delusion”.
For the murdered Christians, however, “The cross delusion” was rather “The cross certainty”!
Indeed, the brother of two of the murdered Christians thanked their killers for including the men’s declaration of faith in the video as this demonstrated that they were “a badge of honour to Christianity”.
This brother, when asked what he would say if he were asked to forgive ISIS, related what his mother said she would do if she saw one of the men who killed her son.
“My mother, an uneducated woman in her sixties, said she would ask [him] to enter her house and ask God to open his eyes because he was the reason her son entered the kingdom of heaven.”
Invited to pray for his brothers’ killers, he prayed: “Dear God, please open their eyes to be saved and to quit their ignorance and the wrong teachings they were taught.”
From where does this mercy, this power to forgive, come? Surely from – “O, my Lord Jesus!”
Mercy and judgement meet in the cross of Christ.
God’s judgement is due because humanity was in rebellion against The One from whom humanity comes.
And God’s mercy is dramatically demonstrated by His taking upon Himself the judgement due to humanity because “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19).
The cross declares God’s, “You are forgiven, Come on home!” The cross is the certainty of God’s power to forgive, to bring reconciliation.
In the words of Jesus concerning His persecutors, “Father, forgive them”.
Likewise, the cross of Christ is our certainty of eternal meaning, hope, mercy and life.
May the example of the Egyptian Christians, living and dead inspire our works and words of mercy and forgiveness – “O, my Lord Jesus!”.
You can view the video here.
