The Way of the World is Undone

The way
of the world
is violence. 

The way of Christ,
the way of the Cross,
is the undoing of violence.

If we do not understand
the solution, it is because
we have not sufficiently
understood the problem.

The Cross of Christ turns the way of the world on its head. Jesus of Nazareth, who by wicked hands was put to the violence of crucifixion, by that same Cross put death itself to death. Peter preached about this at Pentecost, in Acts 2.

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:22-24)

“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”  (Acts 2:32-36)

In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul speaks of this same upending of the way the world thinks, putting everything right side up. What is thought by the world to be foolishness turns out to be the very wisdom of God. The wisdom by which God created the heavens and the earth is the same wisdom by which God finally puts the world right, the wisdom of the Cross.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.  Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength ... It is because of [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25, 30)

The Cross As Ascension

We often think of the Cross, the Resurrection and the Ascension as three events instead of  one. They seem to be separate in time; each is given its own day within the space of forty-something days. But Christ is eternal, and in the Incarnation, not only is humanity joined with divinity but time is joined with eternity, and what appears separately in time is one in eternity. In the Gospel of John, Cross, Resurrection and Ascension are one continuous movement. (See also, Cross and Resurrection As Singular Event.)

In John, being lifted up refers to one continuous action of ascent, beginning with the cross but ending at the right hand of the Father. Step 1 is Jesus’ death; step 2 is his resurrection; and step 3 is the ascension back to heaven. It is the upward swing of the “pendulum” which began with the incarnation, the descent of the Word become flesh from heaven to earth. (NET Bible, study note at John 4:13)

We can find several references to ascension in John’s Gospel, but they cast it as crucifixion. We see this early, in John 3:

No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven – the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:13-15 NET)

Jesus speaks of descension from heaven and ascension into heaven — a downward movement (katabaino) followed by upward movement (anabaino). We may think of the descension as the Incarnation, the Logos of John 1 becoming flesh and dwelling among us — God condescending to join in union with humankind — and the humiliating death of the cross, with the descent from the cross into the grave.

But when we come to ascension, we find something unexpected. It does not begin with the resurrection but with the cross. In John 3, Jesus, understanding the Scriptures as speaking of himself, refers to the story of Moses “lifting up” the serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9) and makes a comparison (indicated by “just as”). The point of comparison is lifting up: Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness; Christ must be lifted up. The Greek word is hypsoo and means to elevate or exalt.

In the Numbers 21 account, when the people turned away from the LORD, venomous snakes passed through the people, killing many. When the people turned back to the LORD, Moses was instructed to make a bronze serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who had been bitten would look upon that serpent, they would be healed and saved from death.

Just as Moses elevated the bronze serpent on the pole, Jesus says, so the Son of Man must be elevated, and the instrument of that elevation would be the cross. Jesus had just been talking about descension and ascension? Which one was he now speaking of by this comparison of himself with the lifting up of the serpent? Well, we can say it is descension; is it not the cross to which he is referring? Indeed it is. Yet Jesus speaks of it as ascension, being lifted up, elevated, exalted. In John 12, Jesus again speaks of it as exaltation:

“Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:31-33)

Is this descension, or ascension? By his words, Jesus showed the kind of death he was going to die, death by crucifixion. And yet those very words speak of him as being “lifted up,” elevated, exalted. For the world was about to be judged, which is to say, there was about to be a world-changing crisis (the Greek word for “judge” here is krisis) that would set things right. The old death-dealing way of the world was about to be condemned, and the living, life-giving Christ would prevail. The “prince of this world” was about to be driven out, exorcised.

The cross is the exaltation of Christ because it is his judgment on the world, casting out darkness and death and the devil. It is his rule and reign that is exercised, and in a singular way, dramatically changing the world forever. It is ascension, and humankind, joined with Christ through the Incarnation, is ascended with him — to the Cross, to the Resurrection and to the right hand of the Father.

Cross and Resurrection As Singular Event

The Cross and Resurrection are not two different events but two different views of the same event.Yet many Christians have thought of it as a two-step plan. They have been taught that the Cross was about “paying” for sin, like a debt that was owed, in order to assuage the wrath of an angry deity. Solving the sin problem is step one, and with that neatly handled, step two is solving the problem of death.

With that kind of thinking, many have not known how to adequately think of the Resurrection in relation to the Cross. Some have supposed that the Resurrection is the assurance or proof that the so-called “payment for sin” was accepted by God and his wrath was appeased. But that is not how the Scriptures speak of  either the Cross or the Resurrection. It is not how they present the problem, nor  how they announce the resolution.

The real problem was not sin but death. In Romans 5:12, Paul tells us, “Therefore, just as sin entered into the cosmos through one man, and death through sin, so also death pervaded all humanity, whereupon all sinned” (The New Testament translation by David Bentley Hart).

Death did not come upon all because all sinned. The Greek words eph ho in that verse simply do not mean “because,” though that it is how they have often been translated in this verse. Yet, of all the other places in the New Testament where eph ho is used, it is never translated as “because,” or as having that meaning. (See Whereupon All Sinned.)

The problem was not that death came upon all because all sin but that all sin because death came upon all. The early Church understood the true problem to be that of our mortality; that is, we all die.

We do not die because we sin; we sin because we die. The answer, then, was not to treat the symptom, sin — sin could be and has been forgiven. God demonstrated “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God did not need to be appeased in order to forgive us; God was already kindly disposed toward us, and forgiving of us. “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). The Cross was not the purchase price of God’s forgiveness but the manifestation of it.

The Cross and Resurrection do not merely address the symptom (sin) but gets at the root of the problem: human mortality. The only way death can be overcome is by life, more particularly, by the One who is Life. It is through the Cross and Resurrection that death is defeated, by the life of the One who could not be defeated by death — because he is life, the source of all life from the creation of the world.

At the Cross, Christ did not go down to defeat, waiting to see if there would be victory, that is, the Resurrection. The Resurrection reveals that the Cross is the victory, that Christ disarmed the principalities and powers (Colossians 2:15), cast out the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31), destroyed the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and through death destroyed the one who held the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free those who were held in bondage all their lives by the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

That is how the power of sin was broken, by breaking the power of death, and the power of the one who held death, thus breaking the bondage of the fear of death. (See Trampling the Fear of Death.)

In the Cross and Resurrection, Christ fully experienced death and death was overcome, inevitably, by Life. It is one event, but we see it in two different ways — and both of those ways are beautiful.

Breaking the Powers

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.

So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:10-15)

Sons and daughters. Brothers and sisters. God is intensely interested in his children — his family. He is not ashamed to call us sons and daughters but desires to bring us into the full experience and participation of his glory.

Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. He came to set us free, and it is for this reason that God became a man. It was necessary that he fully share in our humanity, to become mortal flesh and experience death, so that by the life and power of God he might overcome death for us all. His death, then, became the means by which the power of the devil, the power and fear of death, was broken.

Death was not a retaliatory judgment of God on the sin of man but the natural consequence of man turning away from life. It was the devil who tempted man to sin, to rebel and turn away from God, the very source of life. When life is rejected, what else is left except death? So here is another reason why Jesus needed to become a man.

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17-18)

Jesus knows exactly what it is like to go through trials and tests and temptations. He experienced them at their most fundamental level yet remained faithful throughout, even to the point of death. And having suffered such things himself, he is well able to help us in our time of testing. He has, in a word, broken the power of sin.

Here, then, is the reason for Good Friday and the Cross: It is where the Lord Jesus broke the powers — the power of sin, the power of the devil and the power of death. And having broken the powers, he is able to reconcile us back to God, by the blood of the cross, and breathe new life — his life — into us by the Holy Breath of God.

The Good Friday Mindset

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8)

Jesus has always been God, even before he was Jesus — that is, even before (from our time-bound perspective) he became human and dwelt among us. It was no contradiction for the eternal Son of God to pour himself out and become like you and me, even to become one with us, for God is self-giving, not self-serving. That is his nature, for God is love. So, becoming human did not take away one bit from his divinity. Nor did it disguise his divinity. Rather, it revealed his divinity. After all, when God created humankind, he created us in his own image, and Jesus, in his humanity said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”

Nor was it a contradiction for Jesus to humble himself and become a servant, for God is love, and the nature of love is to give and to serve. It was the very thing he modeled for his disciples when he took up the basin and the towel and washed their feet on the night of the Last Supper, the night before he poured himself out on the cross.

Nor was it a contradiction for Jesus to become obedient to the point of death, even to such a cruel and horrible death as the cross. For God is love, and as Jesus himself said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Love has always been the heart and mind of God. It was the mindset of the Incarnation and also of that Good Friday. And it is the same mindset he invites us to share with him. Not only to experience the love of God by receiving but also to experience it by pouring it, and ourselves, out for each other. So, Paul exhorts us, in his letter to the Jesus followers at Philippi, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”

How Does the Cross Save Us?

How does the cross save us? This is a question about the atonement, that is, how does the work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross bring salvation?

(This question is not about how we receive salvation — we receive it by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather, it is about how the cross effects salvation.)

We often think of atonement as the “payment” Jesus made or the “penalty” Jesus bore for our sins on our behalf in order to turn away the wrath of God. This theory is called “penal substitutionary atonement” (PSA). It's prominence today is largely a development of the Reformation and has been the front-and-center theory of atonement for much of evangelicalism today. Though other theories have also been accepted by evangelicals, it is PSA that has been given pride of place and is in the driver’s seat about what atonement is and means.

However, the problem of the world and of humanity was not that there were sins that somehow needed to be paid for or penalized. The problem was that mankind was in bondage to sin — we needed to be set free from the power of sin. This was accomplished at the cross. Paul says,

• Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:6-11)
• For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you. (2 Corinthians 13:4)
• I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
• But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. (Galatians 6:14-15)

The work of Christ on the cross means that we are now dead to sin and no longer in slavery to it — sin no longer has rightful dominion over us. Christ was crucified in our place, so we are now crucified to the world and the world is crucified to us. In the atoning work of Christ, we are made “new creation.” In the cross, the power of God was revealed, and it is by this same divine power that we can now live.

There is also another major aspect that Christ addressed on the cross. That is the matter of the devil and of death. “The whole world,” John tells us, “is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). But John also assures us that, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

The power of the devil was broken at the cross. When Jesus predicted that He would be crucified, which was about to happen shortly, He said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). The “ruler of this world” is the devil. At the Last Supper, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of judgment, “because the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16:11). This judgment and casting out of the “ruler of this world,” happened at the cross.

Paul speaks of how Christ, “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:14-15). The principalities and powers are the demonic influences that so often control governments and cultures in the world. It was at the cross that Christ disarmed them, made a public spectacle of them and triumphed over them.

The author of Hebrews also speaks of the victory of Christ over the devil: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15). The power of death was broken at the cross because the power of the devil was broken at the cross.

Through the cross, we are reconciled to God, brought back into proper relationship with Him. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them,” Paul says (2 Corinthians 5:19). “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:19-20).

In Philippians 2, it is because of the cross that Jesus has been highly exalted and given the name that is above every name, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” In other words, the reign of Christ over all heaven and earth has been established by His work on the cross. And now, as Paul says, “He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:24).

The saving work of Christ on the cross was not about payment and/or penalty, or appeasing the wrath of God. The very power of sin, of death and of the devil was broken so that now all may be dead to sin and alive to God.

How Chastisement Became Peace

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
    He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
    And by His stripes we are healed.

(Isaiah 53:5)

For the past few days, I have been captured by this verse, particularly the line about “chastisement” and “peace,” and how one was exchanged for the other.

This passage, from Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12, is about the “Suffering Servant.” It is a portrait of the Messiah, a prophecy of what He would do — and of what would be done to Him. It is a picture of the Passion, of Good Friday and the Cross.

What happened there that day was a very peculiar thing. To onlookers, it might have appeared that He was suffering on His own behalf, because of His own sins: “Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). However, the opposite was true, as the “but” that begins verse 5 indicates: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.” The Innocent One suffered for the guilty, the Righteous One for the unrighteous.

• The transgressions were ours; the mortal wound belonged to us, but He was pierced instead.
• Ours were the iniquities, so also the crushing, disfiguring bruises, but He took them upon Himself.
• The stripes that fell on His back should rightfully have been laid on ours, but He let them be on His so we could be healed.

In a word, He took what belonged to us and gave us what belonged to Him. The world’s idea of justice was turned upside down so that the world could be put right.

Consider, now, how chastisement became peace. The Hebrew word for “chastise” is musar. It may be corporal or verbal; it may be instruction, discipline, rebuke or punishment. A chastisement by words indicates that the purpose is to instruct, but what Isaiah speaks of is a chastisement of wounds, of bruises, of stripes, and the purpose is for peace.

The Hebrew word for “peace” is shalom. It is much more than the absence of conflict or the ceasing of hostilities. It is wholeness, what was once missing now restored, what was once broken now healed.

Jesus, the Son of God become flesh, had no lack. Nothing missing, nothing broken. The lack was ours — a broken relationship with God, with creation, with each other, even with our own selves. The chastisement should have been on us, but He let it come upon Himself so we could have His peace, His shalom, His wholeness.

Consecrated on God’s Holy Mountain

I have consecrated My King on Zion, My holy mountain.
(Psalm 2:6 HCSB)

The nations raged, the people plotted together, kings and rulers conspired and set themselves against Yahweh and His Messiah (Psalm 2:1-2). “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us,” they said (v. 3). God’s response?

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
“Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”

(vv. 4-6)

Yahweh laughs! All their rage and spite and conspiracy amount to nothing, because God has set His King on His holy hill, Zion. The Hebrew word for “set” means to “pour out,” as a drink offering, and by analogy speaks of anointing a king. It is a consecration, a setting apart for God’s special purpose. Zion, God’s holy hill, speaks of Jerusalem, the place He chose to manifest His presence in a special way among His people.

This is a messianic prophecy, as good as done when God first spoke it as it is today. It happened in history with the coming of Jesus the Messiah, God’s Anointed King. He was consecrated, poured out as a drink offering, when He carried a wooden cross up God’s holy hill and allowed Himself to be nailed upon it. Though it did not seem like it at the time, this was the place of victory over His enemies — and ours. In the old prophesy, Messiah recounts God spoke to Him.

I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

(vv. 7-9)

The apostle Paul speaks of that victory in this way:

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:13-15)

Here are the enemies of King Jesus and His people — vanquished. The indictment that stood against us, the list of crimes we have committed against God and each other — wiped out, thoroughly obliterated. The principalities and powers, all the demonic forces that oppressed us and held us in subjection — completely disarmed. As John said, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). And from the author of Hebrews: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

All these evil powers threw everything they had at Jesus that day when He hung from the cross. Everything — and it amounted to nothing, as they soon discovered when He committed His spirit into God’s hands, who raised Him from the dead on the third day.

What remains now is an invitation for all who have ever set themselves against God. It is a word of wisdom, a warning and a promise.

Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

(vv. 10-12)

God consecrated Jesus on Zion all those centuries ago. It was the day of victory that changes the world — and all who put their trust in God’s Messiah King.

Let God Arise and His Enemies Be Scattered

Let God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away,
So drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
But let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God;
Yes, let them rejoiced exceedingly.

(Psalm 68:1-3)

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

Good Friday was our victory day, the day God arose to scatter His enemies. Jesus, the Word of God, became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). God made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Through death, he Lord Jesus destroyed the evil one, who had the power of death, and released us from bondage. Indeed, He came for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil.

On this day, God arose to scatter His enemies and destroy the works of the devil. Jesus shed His blood to establish a new covenant between God and us (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:6). This means that His enemies are our enemies and our enemies are His.

Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
Take up shield and buckler;
Arise and come to my aid.
Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me.
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

(Psalm 35:1-3 NIV)

The Hebrew word for “salvation” in that passage is yeshuah. As a proper name, it is Yeshua, which is Hebrew for “Jesus.” Jesus is our salvation, our victory, and through faith in Him, we are made victorious.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us form the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-36, 37-39).

In Jesus Christ, Good Friday has become your victory day. God has destroyed the works of the devil on your behalf and scattered your enemies. Their bondage is broken and they no longer have any power over you. It is a cause for great rejoicing in the presence of the Lord.

Good Friday

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. (Ephesians 1:7-10)

God has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

We were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from our aimless conduct received by tradition from our fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for us who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that our faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)

When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes we were healed. For we were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. (1 Peter 2:23-25)

We look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:32-39)

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Receive What He Has Done for You

Good Friday — The best way to honor this day, and more importantly, the day that this day commemorates, is to receive what Jesus did for you on the Cross:

• A great ransom has been paid for you. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10.45).
• He came to find you and save you. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19.10).
• The works of the devil have been destroyed on your behalf. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3.8).
• Abundant life has been won for you this day. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy," Jesus said, "I have come that they may might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10.10).
• The favor of the LORD is upon you. "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD" (Luke 4.18,19).
• Everlasting life. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3.16).

Receive the salvation, the healing, the freedom from bondage, the prosperity and wholeness in every area of your life that Jesus has won for you on the Cross. Lay hold of it by faith, confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10.8-9). Give Him thanks and praise His name.