Exchange

The essential nature of all trade is that of an exchange. 

I will give my ten sheep in exchange for your one donkey. Or, in more recent history, I will provide a certain number of currency units for the service you are offering.  Life is full of exchanges.

One of the most potent images of the gospel is known as the great exchange. 

Martin Luther described the wonder of our salvation using the biblical image of a great marriage. 

Jesus is the great King, full of life, grace, and salvation. We are at the opposite extreme: full of death, sins, and damnation. But when faith comes between us, a most glorious marriage occurs. 

He takes all that is ours on himself, and we get all that is his as if it were our own.  What an exchange!

The most foundational exchange in Christianity is Christ’s life for ours. He is the God-given substitute, taking our place and facing the just punishment for sin.  His death gives us life.  His life replaces our death. 

[destacate]He takes all that is ours on Himself, and we get all that is His as if it were our own.  What an exchange![/destacate]In John 3, for instance, we see Jesus helping the impressive Nicodemus to see that all his achievements and standing meant nothing before God.  As remarkable as he was in human terms, he was still spiritually dead and needed to be born from above. 

How could that happen?  Just like the Israelites needed to look at the brass serpent in Numbers 21:6-9, so would the Son of Man be lifted up in death, and those who believed in him, who looked to him, would live. 

But there are more exchanges to be found in the Gospel of John.  Consider the ongoing transformation that occurs as someone follows Jesus and serves him. 

For instance, John the Baptist knew who Jesus was, pointed others to him, and served him faithfully.  At the end of John 3, we see some of John’s disciples bemoaning that the crowds had shifted from John to Jesus.

Indeed, for a life defined by the ministry of baptizing, it must have been disappointing to see the flood of people dwindle to a trickle.  Not for John.  He knew that his role was that of best man at a wedding, but the groom was Jesus.

The bride going to Jesus only made John immensely happy (see John 3:29).  So John uttered the beautiful words: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) 

This is the gradual exchange of self for Christ that happens as we follow our Saviour.

[destacate]Following Jesus should shift us increasingly from the lure of self to the wonder of Christ[/destacate]We can see the self-for-Christ exchange contrasted at the start of John 12.  There, Mary is so captivated by Jesus that she pours an immensely valuable perfume onto his feet. 

Meanwhile, Judas Iscariot, captured not by Christ but by his greed, can only express his dismay at the missed opportunity for further theft.  (See John 12:1-8.) 

Mary was the picture of a disciple who knew Jesus’ giving and worshipped Jesus by selflessly giving everything in return. Judas was the picture of someone exposed to Jesus but still gripped by the magnetic pull of self. 

Following Jesus should shift us increasingly from the lure of self to the wonder of Christ.

And then we see Jesus with his disciples in the upper room.  In a world filled with hate, Jesus demonstrates a better way.  The radical way of selfless love stands in sharp contrast to the way of our world. 

[destacate]People in a culture of hate need to see true love.  How will they see it?  Only if the faithful followers of Jesus are marked with his defining characteristic[/destacate]Today, as then, selfless love is repulsive to a world gripped by sin (Judas must have been struggling in that upper room until he left), but it is also strikingly attractive. 

People in a culture of hate need to see true love.  How will they see it?  Only if the faithful followers of Jesus are marked with his defining characteristic.  (See John 13:35.)

Having exchanged death for life, self for Christ, and hate for love, the followers of Jesus are invited to also exchange comfort for calling. 

In John 21, we see Jesus gently remind his disciples that he called them to fish for men, to feed the sheep, and to follow him even to their death – whatever that would involve. 

To be a disciple of Jesus asks much of us, but we cannot fully describe how much we receive in the process. 

Giving up death, self, hate, and comfort is not easy.  But receiving life, Christ, love, and a calling is truly other-worldly and glorious. 

Praise God that he is the God of exchange – an exchange that cost him everything, that gives us everything, and that changes everything!

Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. He blogs at Biblical Preaching.