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When Christ left heaven to come and save us, He didn’t stop halfway or just give His second-best. He gave up everything for us by willingly pouring out His blood on the cross. Knowing that Christ gave His all for us, we must ask ourselves the question, “Am I giving my all for Him?”
No doubt, many people saw Jesus hanging on the cross and thought, “What a waste! He could have done so much more good if He hadn’t died.” But Jesus compared Himself to a kernel of wheat, which will never become more than a single seed unless it falls into the ground and dies. Only by dying can it spring to life and produce many more seeds. As His followers, we have been called to die to our own life just as Jesus did. Until we die, we will never begin to truly live!
Who could ever imagine sending an innocent person to be beaten and put to death in the place of a violent murderer? Nothing about that would be fair! Yet that is exactly what Jesus did. He died on the cross even though He was innocent, and Barabbas was set free even though he was guilty. Barabbas is a picture of us all — guilty before God and facing His judgement. But Jesus stepped in and became our substitute, paying our debt and setting us free!
If someone bought you a new car, paid for it in full, and gave you the title, would you go to the dealership every month to make payments on it? Of course not! And yet that is exactly what we often do as Christians. Our sin debt has been paid in full and our record has been wiped completely clean, but we continue to live as though we’re guilty in God’s eyes. Once you understand the truth about God’s forgiveness, you will see your standing before Him in a whole new light, and you will be free to live your life for Him without being crippled by the guilt of your past!
Imagine yourself being chained in a dark, gloomy dungeon, kept as a slave by a cruel master, with no hope at all of ever being set free. That is exactly the condition we were all in before Christ! We were slaves of Satan and bound by the chains of sin, with absolutely no way to buy our own freedom. But God loved us so much that He paid the price for our ransom by sacrificing His Son on the cross. Christ paid for us with His own precious blood, and because of this, we have been redeemed!
When we read in the Bible that Jesus left heaven and came to earth to save us, do we have any idea just what that really means? The King of glory laid aside His royal robe and wrapped Himself in human flesh. He exchanged His home in heaven to have no place to lay His head on earth. He willingly endured mocking and slander, was abandoned by His closest friends, suffered an excruciating death on a cross, and He did it all for you!
As Jesus drew closer to the cross, knowing all the suffering and anguish that awaited Him there, the Bible says that there was a joy for Him in enduring the cross. What kind of joy could Jesus possibly have found in such a horrific event, and what can we learn from this when facing struggles and suffering of our own?
When something monumental occurs in our life, it has the power to change us forever. Depending on the circumstance, we may want to erase that event from our memory, or intentionally remember how greatly we have been impacted by it. How important is Jesus Christ’s sacrifice to us? How often do we really focus on what He has done for us? (The last few minutes of this message were lost, but the heart of the message is still intact for you to listen to.)
The death of Christ on the cross changes more than our legal status before God in heaven. It does more than just save us from our sins and give us a home in heaven. His death must also bring about a complete change in our daily walk here on earth. It is impossible for anyone to have a genuine encounter with Jesus Christ and walk away unchanged! Today we celebrate not only the death Jesus died, but the life He gives. Are you living that new life?
We’ve all been conned into a bad deal or two in our lifetime. But God comes to us this Easter weekend and offers us a deal that is so amazing, it would make no sense to refuse. He is inviting us to become part of the incredible exchange that took place on the cross and the empty tomb 2,000 years ago. That is when God took all of our sinfulness and placed it on Jesus, and God took all of His sinlessness and placed it on us, and for all who accept this offer, God no longer sees us as rotten sinners, He sees us righteous sons. Have you accepted this offer? It is the greatest deal you will ever make, and it will result in the greatest change you will ever experience!
As Americans, we observe Memorial Day to honor and remember those who have given their lives for our freedom. But may we never forget that the greatest sacrifice ever made was when Jesus willingly bore our sin and died on the cross to purchase our freedom. For us, every day should be a “Memorial Day” as we honor and remember our Savior for shedding His innocent blood to save us!
Where would your life be right now without Jesus? The fact is, you would be wallowing in sin, and you would be faced with a debt you could never pay. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the debt for our sin and saved us from the wrath of God that was coming upon us. We did absolutely nothing to deserve this… that’s why it’s called Grace! Do we really understand all that God’s grace has brought to us? It truly is amazing grace!
