04/06/2025
As Easter approaches and we are resting in the shadow of the cross my thoughts are on Jesus, and the final days of His life. I am contemplating the cross and what that momentous event in human history meant to mankind as Jesus hung from it. I am thinking about what it means to me personally, and what it means to the world as a whole. Contrary to what an unbeliever might think, Jesus was not a victim that day, and the cross was not imposed upon Him. Jesus, the lamb of God, came to this world to perform a job that wasn’t cut short by a murderous crowd at a place called Golgotha. No, He came to fulfill prophesy, deliver a message, take on our sins, and then to give up His life to conquer death for us. We, on the other hand, were graced with three years of His ministry during which He would show us beyond any shadow of a doubt that He was indeed the Son of God. Those years taught us lessons regarding a New Covenant that we could not have learned otherwise.
“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
John 10:17-18 KJV
Scripture also tells us that Satan makes war against the saints, and that there will be those who will worship him as well, but even in that horrible sounding scripture there is victory for all who follow Christ, because we learn that Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world, and that He alone holds the book of life.
“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
Revelation 13:8 KJV
Jesus is the Lamb of God, and he was slain to defeat sin for all time (which is the only way we know how to describe it). To us it might seem that this occurred at a certain point in time, but the Son of God, like God the Father, is not bound by time. This is the crux of another scripture from Revelation which reads, that God “was, and is, and is to come."
“And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”
Revelation 4:8 KJV
So although the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus appeared to us to be a certain moment in time and history, it was not, it had begun before the foundation of the world and only culminated in the "fullness of the time"
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
Galatians 4:4-5 KJV
And indeed Jesus was as He told us of Himself in scripture...
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8 KJV
The wonder and thrill in this scripture is that Jesus said "I am Alpha", not "I was". He didn't just die on the cross, but He rose again and ascended into heaven. Death and Sin were thus defeated forever... even from the foundation of the earth.
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
1 Peter 2:24 KJV
The cross is not a symbol of sorrow... it is a banner shouting victory for the world, and Jesus was not a victim, nor was He murdered, because He laid His life down, and then picked it up again... He was victorious over death, but more than that... He triumphant over sin. Jesus is more than our "hope", He is our promise, and the cross (though those who employed it meant for it to embody horror), has become the symbol of our redemption... of the fulfillment of that joyous promise... God’s seal on a New Covenant.
So we shout "Holy, Holy, Holy, is He" and hold to the promise that God made through His Son... from the foundation of the earth. Praise Be To God!!!
“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
Luke 22:19-20 ESV
No murder was committed on Calvary… only grace.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your Son Jesus who was born, suffered, died, and was resurrected for me, and the world. Father, I praise your name and thank you for loving us so much that you would give us your Son, Jesus Christ, to be slain before the foundation of the earth to redeem us. I lift His name in prayer. I sing before the rugged cross that bore Him, and I celebrate there before the wood and nails which some intended to defeat Him, the victory of His power and glory instead. I revel in this moment when you poured your grace over the world from it and through Him. Father, I thank you for this cross that man designed as an instrument of death but was transformed by you for eternity into a vessel containing the ancient wine of your New Covenant… forgiveness, and grace being offered to all who would drink of it. I prostrate myself before you and humble myself as a servant of your will. You are good beyond measure and loving without bounds. Now we are able to sing Holy, Holy, Holy before your throne, and shower our gratitude and love upon you, and to do so in the name of Jesus our glorious brother who sits at your right hand... Father, Father, Father, and Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, the Lamb of God. Hear our voices as we lift them in song and prayer, and pour out your amazing grace, this precious blood, over us to complete your timeless, yet new, Covenant. And all of heaven, earth, and creation shouted out Hallelujah! and Amen!
Hallelujah! Amen! And all glory and honor to He who knows no beginning and no end.
Rich Forbes