Several weeks ago I read a great story. It so happens that a highschooler upon completing his test, attached a note to his teacher asking him to please assign his bonus points to whatever student earned the lowest grade in class. The teacher was very touched and impressed by the request. He knew each student wanted to get the best possible grade and here this student was freely giving up extra points to another without caring about the gender, race, or other factors involved or the recipient. The request so touched the teacher that he posted it on his site for others to read.
I’m sure the morning of the test some student walked out of that room thinking, “I really messed up today.” To the student’s surprise, someone had paid a price allowing him/her to achieve the impossible: pass the class. As might be expected, besides the well-wishers, there were the naysayers. The ones who believed that it would have been more helpful to assist the failing student with academic help; or that helping that person wasn’t fair because now someone passed without really knowing or having learned the material. The teacher, however, dismissed the negatives and focused on the genuineness and kindness of the giver and how one great act could positively impact another student.
In life, as in Jesus’ time, there will always be the praisers as well as the naysayers. In His day, the religious leaders protested about everything He did. They complained because it wasn’t the ‘right’ day to perform healings (And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day, that they might accuse him. Mark 3:2). They saw themselves as the ‘elite’, the ones that had all the answers, the ones with God’s blessings all over them (read Matthew chapter 23.. In fact, they probably felt they were born with halos. They decreed every law. They were the law and even above it. They didn’t care about the ones ‘failing’ their class. They never rejoiced when Jesus helped them (the sick, the cripple, the blind, etc.) or made them whole. As far as they saw fit, the masses should remain as they were (too bad they weren’t born into royalty), and at best, why should their lives be changed by a lunatic, a fake, an imposter, a blasphemer (Luke 5:21)? After all, He was only getting their hopes up just to let them down again. But they, the ‘elite’, were different: They had royalty, they had the law, they learned it since infants. They learned the Pentateuch by age five, they were smiled upon by God-even if they didn’t uphold the law, even if they abused it by making exceptions to it. Even if they looked down upon the common people ( …Jesus answered them…Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keep it? John 7:19a). Jesus warned the people about the religious leaders’ falsehood: Then in the audience of all the people he said to his disciples, Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; which devour widows’ houses, and for a show make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation. Luke 20:45-47.
Well, like the high schooler who donated bonus points to an unknown, regardless of, Jesus, a law student, and God’s appointed voice, paid ‘bonus points’ for you, for us all. His sacrifice covers everyone on earth regardless of origin, beliefs, status, etc. Whether you’re ‘failing’ life or are at the very top of the world in all you do, Christ already passed the points of eternal life and forgiveness of sin to you. He took the tests (and passed) so we wouldn’t have to. He gave up His royalty and became poor so we, who are poor due to sin, might become rich in His royalty, in His kingdom. Get the points?