The Cross = Victory
How could the death of the son of God be the best thing ever?
Looking like a loser
When Jesus was hanging, dying, on the cross, He looked nothing like a victorious warrior. Those people who so furiously mocked Jesus assumed that He was a dead loser. “He saved others”, they said, “but he can’t save himself!” (Mark 15:31b). It was plainly oblivious to everyone there who had won this battle, and it wasn’t Jesus.
However, looks can be deceiving. The cross was not the sign that the forces of evil had defeated Jesus. The cross was actually the sign that Jesus had defeated Satan and publically exposed him to shame.
Confused? Check out Colossians 2:13-15
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
The ultimate winners
When we were defeated by sin and our sinful nature, God stepped in big time. He sent Jesus to disarm the evil powers, including Satan. And He made a public spectacle of them, setting us free from our bondage to sin. This is what happened on the cross.
In ancient Rome, a public holiday would often be declared to celebrate the victory of a significant battle. The victorious general and his troops would march into Rome as conquering heroes. And trailing behind the victors would often be the defeated enemy, in chains, ready to serve as slaves. It was plainly oblivious to everyone there who had won this battle and who had lost.
The death of Jesus on the cross was a great victory. Jesus proved this by rising from the dead. And we are real winners because of what he has done. We have been set free. We have been made alive.
So we who live by faith in the cross of Christ are on the winning side, even though it may not look like it. But remember, looks can be deceiving.
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