Passion by Jack Radcliffe

Passion
Jack Radcliffe
I’ve been having conversations with a group of young people lately about passion. We often confuse enthusiasm with passion. Though passion can be seen in our enthusiasm, passion is not enthusiasm. It’s something much more.

Our nation was shaken to its core once again by the devastating massacre of children in Newtown, Connecticut. Out of the rubble of unimaginable and unexplainable evil rose the story of a teacher who embodied the meaning of passion. While the details continue to be sorted out, here’s what we know. As the gunman made his way down the hall toward her class, a young teacher, Victoria Soto, put her students in the classroom closet. Shielding them from potential harm, she told the gunman they had gone to the auditorium. She lost her life attempting to save others. She laid down her life for them.

Victoria demonstrated her passion—her relentless pursuit of what matters and a willingness to lay down her life for it.

Matthew chapters 26–28 is notably called the Passion narrative. In this passage, we see passion defined for us not in words but in actions. It begins with a simple dinner celebrating the deliverance of God’s people, called Passover. Using the elements of the meal, Jesus showed his closest friends that he was about to bring to them a new covenant through his death. In what we now call Communion—breaking of bread and drinking of wine—they would symbolically be made clean from sin and prepared for a new life serving God.

This was Jesus’ calling, his God-given purpose—his passion. It had nothing to do with gaining a great reputation, satisfying ambition, or making money. His passion meant offering himself for the good of the world.

The next scene in the Passion narrative takes us to a place called Gethsemane. It was a place where Jesus reflected on the kind of death he would have. Aside from the physical pain, his soul also was disturbed by the weight of the world’s sin he would be assuming.

He made one request of his closest friends: Peter, James, and John. “Stay here. . . . Keep watch and pray” (Matthew 26:38, 41). He wanted them to be close. He invited them to share his deepest pain with him. It was a special invitation, given only to those he felt closest to, who could handle it.

They fell asleep. Jesus was left alone at the time of his deepest need.

The anguish over the pending suffering led him to ask his Father to let it pass. No chance. Finally surrendered, Jesus rests in the will of the Father. Jesus’ passion was God’s will.

Betrayal and an illegal trial were part of this plan. Next was a beating, then crucifixion, which was usually reserved for the most vile of criminals. Jesus allowed it; he chose it. It was his passion, his relentless pursuit of what mattered most. His action of laying down his life is evidence of this.

With his resurrection, Jesus demonstrated God’s passion for giving new life. In Jesus’ commissioning of the disciples (Matthew 28:16-20), we see that this new life is not just for some individuals, but also for the world.

What God loves matters. God so loved (i.e., was passionate about) the world that he sent his only Son to die for it and give it life. The questions I must ask myself are, Do I love what God loves? Am I passionate about what God is passionate about? Am I willing to do what must be done so that others can experience new life?

As we consider whether or not to follow Jesus, we must answer this question. What do you say?