This morning the entire Christian community recognizes that it is Good Friday. It is however, a solemn good because Jesus had to go through a cruel, harsh and violent death in order so that we may experience true life in Him. His death saved us from eternal punishment and experiencing God’s wrath. So today, is also a dark day, the day in which a sinless Savior, driven by an unmatched love for us, decided to die in our place. Ponder that for a moment. The purest man took on the weight of all of your sin and mine. All the lustful thoughts, slanderous comments, false lies, moments of anger, and more was all taken on by one man. He bore those sins and today we celebrate the fact that we have true life in Him.
1 – His Sacrifice was Necessary:
Colossians 2:14
“by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
When sin first entered into the world, we were given a debt of sin that had to be paid. That debt is what eternally separated us from God and the verdict was eternal punishment. This is a world that He created and He created it for His purpose and glory. More so, He created us in His image to be a picture of what His love looks like. He carefully crafted and created each and every one of us in order so that we can experience His love in our lives and ultimately reflect Him. Just like an artists work represents the artist and what they stand for, so do we as God’s creation, represent Him.
Sin marred that picture and therefore, there was only one solution: someone had to pay for mankind’s mistakes. A sinful person could not do it because sin cannot cover another’s sin. It is equivalent to the blind leading the blind, it cannot be done and the efforts will prove to be futile and worthless. Someone who was innocent, completely without any record of wrong, had to take our place.
Jesus Christ became that sacrifice that was necessary for us to avoid being punished. He paid the necessary price because we are not able to stand before God and take on His entire wrath. It is a sacrifice that He paid that we could not even begin to afford. There was no amount of good in us that could bring on God’s forgiveness and grace. His death on the cross took on the guilty sentence. Our records became clean and we are given a chance to start new and follow after Him.
2 – He Died Once and for All:
Hebrews 9:11-12
“But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.”
The most beautiful and powerful part about Jesus’s death on the cross, was that He only had to do it once to accomplish erasing our sin.
In the old testament days, it was customary that when one would come and offer a sacrifice such as a goat or calf as a way of confessing their sin. There was also a very specific place in which this would take place and you as the one confessing, would not be able to offer the sacrifice on behalf of yourself. The priest, would enter into the designated place and offer it for you. Most importantly, it was only the priest that was allowed to enter in, no one else had the authority or permission to enter.
Jesus Christ came to die for us, He paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. His blood was worth more then that of a goat or calf. His death covered our sin and because He is the true High Priest. He offered up himself as a means for us to be forgiven of all of our transgressions and wrong doings.
Now, we no longer have to offer up animals as a means of confession. Our sin is dealt with and the times that we do fall, we are now able to come to Jesus Christ with an open heart, confessing our sin and receiving the free gift of His Grace and love.
3 – No longer enslaved to Sin:
Colossians 1:22-23
“21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”
The result of Jesus’ death on the cross brought about an end to sin’s enslavement. You see, sin has us locked up in chains that no key or axe could cut loose. We were bound to sin’s grasp and the work of the cross truly sets us free. Our chains are gone and we are now made free to live under the light of God’s Grace. It is a simple and profound thought. The thought being there is nothing that no longer is holding us captive to sin and the profound being that Grace saves us and calls us innocent and brings us into a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.
We are also no longer accused of being sinners who deserve eternal punishment. There is nothing that can be held against us because the blood of Jesus Christ counts us being spotless and unmarked. His death justified us and made right what was wrong. We can boldly look at our sin and declare that the work of Jesus Christ holds no record of our wrong and we are able to live a life that pursues living for Him.
At the point of conviction, we experience a renewed heart and life that is defined by our love for Jesus Christ. We no longer have a desire for our old habits and the things that we thought once brought us happiness are trumped by the new freedom found joy we now have in Christ. Furthermore, you are now adopted in to God’s family and are a true Child of God.
[Featured image from theworshipinitiative.com]