“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5).

Good Friday didn’t seem so good when it occurred. Jesus was beaten and bloodied. He had been falsely accused and unlawfully tried. He was sentenced to a criminal’s death without having committed any legal offense. He was condemned but at the same moment a sinister insurrectionist and murderer was released from captivity. Jesus, the friend of sinners, was ridiculed and then bludgeoned by the religious leaders, mocked and humiliated by Herod, interrogated by Pilate, rejected by the Jews, spit upon and tormented verbally by the crowds, and then scourged and crucified by the Romans. How can any of this be good?

On the cross, as He breathed His final breath, Jesus cried out one word and then died. This singular word meant a lot to artists and to those in the financial industry of Jesus’ day. In John 19:30, Jesus called out tetelestai!. The word means “IT IS FINISHED!” Artists who finished their works would often use this word just as their final stroke was completed. When a debt was finally paid off, the word tetelestai would be written on the invoice, much like the stamp many offices use that declares “PAID IN FULL”. Through the incarnation, His perfect life, and His suffering for us on the cross, Jesus became our perfect substitute. Christ is our atoning sacrifice, without blemish (Hebrews 9:11-10:18). He has saved us from the wrath of God (Romans 5:9), and has provided the only means of justification through His blood (Romans 3:24-25). Jesus died once – for all – and His death is sufficient to save. Nothing else must be done to add to the work that Christ accomplished.

Why is Good Friday good? Because this is the day that the power of sin was forever broken. This was the day that the wrath of God was appeased through the finished work of Christ at Calvary. The law was fully and finally fulfilled and upheld in perfection, even as our sin was imputed to the Son. In the midst of the evil, injustice, wrath, torment, suffering, pain and death, something intended for our greatest good was accomplished when Jesus cried out IT IS FINISHED. He didn’t say, “I AM FINISHED”. No, but the work He came to do was completed. Let’s praise God for the finished work of Christ on our behalf and follow Him with joy!

“When God becomes man in Jesus of Nazareth, he not only enters into the finitude of man, but in his death on the cross also enters into the situation of man’s god forsakenness. In Jesus he does not die the natural death of a finite being, but the violent death of the criminal on the cross, the death of complete abandonment by God. The suffering in the passion of Jesus is abandonment, rejection by God, his Father. God does not become a religion, so that man participates in him by corresponding religious thoughts and feelings. God does not become a law, so that man participates in him through obedience to a law. God does not become an ideal, so that man achieves community with him through constant striving. He humbles himself and takes upon himself the eternal death of the godless and the godforsaken, so that all the godless and the godforsaken can experience communion with him.” -Jürgen Moltmann

Every spring I find myself returning to this quote to help me plumb the depths of the significance of the Cross of Christ. That God would become man and willingly suffer and die is unique to the Christian witness and in itself powerful. But Moltmann here pushes us beyond the fact of the death of Christ to consider the reason for Christ’s death. Christ died for what? For who? Christ died for the ungodly…for the godforsaken. In the death of Christ God bridged the divide that he did not make, healed the wound he did not inflict, restored what he had not broken; and he did this on behalf of those who were responsible for those things. The death of Christ therefore is more than divine humility or even devine sympathy. It is divine love. Divine unfathomable love.

The good news of Good Friday is that “It is finished!” (John 19:30) As a result of what Jesus accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection, we can rest from our labors of trying to justify ourselves, and we can revel in hope, because not only were our sins imputed to Jesus, but his righteousness was imputed to us.

This is what it means when it says: “For our sake, He (God) made Him (Jesus), who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

It’s the most astonishing exchange of all time: for those who receive Him (John 1:12), all of your sinfulness was placed on Him, and in return all of His righteousness was accounted to you.
Jürgen Moltmann puts it this way in his book, The Crucified God:

“When God becomes man in Jesus of Nazareth, he not only enters into the finitude of man, but in his death on the cross also enters into the situation of man’s godforsakenness. In Jesus he does not die the natural death of a finite being, but the violent death of the criminal on the cross, the death of complete abandonment by God. The suffering in the passion of Jesus is abandonment, rejection by God, his Father. God does not become a religion, so that man participates in him by corresponding religious thoughts and feelings. God does not become a law, so that man participates in him through obedience to a law. God does not become an ideal, so that man achieves community with him through constant striving. He humbles himself and takes upon himself the eternal death of the godless and the godforsaken, so that all the godless and the godforsaken can experience communion with him.”

Moltmann goes on to say: “God weeps with us so that we may one day laugh with him. May Holy Week be for you a time filled with reflection upon, appreciation for, and response to what Jesus did for you on Calvary; the ultimate expression of God’s love for you.”

Jesus said He would be crucified.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

Psalm 22 predicted Jesus would be crucified. Isaiah 53 predicted that Jesus would be crucified. Zechariah 12:10 predicted that Jesus would be crucified. God was sovereign over the worst in humanity.

This whole scene is filled with voices and choices: Pontius Pilate and Barabbas the robber.

The voices and choices in this trial unveil how broken humanity is and how humble and majestic Jesus is.

“Jesus stands before Pilate” (Luke 23:1–25).

“Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate” (Luke 23:1).

The only reason the average person knows anything about Pontius Pilate is because of his relationship with Jesus Christ. If Pilate had not been the governor of Judea at the time of Jesus, he would have lived and died in obscurity. There were thousands of Roman officials commissioned throughout the Roman Empire, but I doubt that any of us know even one of them by name. But Pilate is known throughout history because of these moments he spent with Jesus.

Pilate possessed great power and position in the Empire. But he hated Judea — he hated the Jews — he had zero concern for them or for their religion — all of which led to decisions that resulted in horrific political setbacks with the Jews that put his entire career in jeopardy.

Pilate’s life was defined by his decisions concerning Jesus — and most importantly the consequences of his indecision concerning Jesus. Life is filled with decisions.

There are political decisions. As the voting results from presidential elections are reported, there are graphic banners running across screens that say “Decision 20_ _.” There are educational decisions. Purchase decisions (Buying a car, buying a house, school district, square footage, neighborhood). Relationship decisions — Is this the one? Each of those decisions has consequences — some small, some life-changing.

But there is one decision that has eternal consequence.

That is the decision that we make concerning Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit inspired the authors of all four accounts of the life and mission of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to hold this man, Pontius Pilate, before us because his decision was made through the filters of a value system that could never supply the deepest need of his heart — a value system that has without exception failed everyone. He came down on the wrong side of the decision concerning Jesus — when all the while he tried everything in his power to make no decision.

In verse three, we find Pilate face to face with Jesus for the first time.

“And Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?'” (Luke 23:3).

No doubt Pilate had heard much about Him. He wouldn’t have failed to miss the way Jesus entered into Jerusalem on the first day of that week with the crowd shouting, “Hosanna, Hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes.” Then there was a Cohort (600 Roman soldiers) involved in the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The ranking officer would have had daily communications with Pilate. He had spies all through Judea and Galilee. In fact, Matthew and Mark tell us that Pilate knew exactly why the religious rulers had brought Jesus to him.

“For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered Him up” (Matthew 27:18; Mark 16:10).

Pilate didn’t ask, “Are you the Messiah? Are you bringing salvation? Are you from heaven?” Pilate had ZERO interest in such things. Pilate’s question had everything to do with the brief biographical sketch of this man. “Are you the King of the Jews?” “Do you have a political agenda?” “Are you out to oppose Caesar and me?”

All four Gospel accounts give us the answer of Jesus to this first question: “And He answered him, ‘You have said so.’”

In John 18:34 we read, “Jesus answered, ‘Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about Me?'”

This is radical! Suddenly, Pilate’s on trial! The beaten, disfigured and defenseless Jesus was holding court on Pilate; and by proxy, you and me.

So many people think that Jesus is on trial when someone shares the Gospel with them! REALITY — Jesus is judging them! THEY are the ones on trial!

We need to bear this in mind — Jesus loved Pilate. Jesus was after Pilate’s heart. Jesus was appealing to him — “As you stand here and look at Me, are you asking if I’m a king because you need to know for yourself? Do you have a conviction in your heart about Me? Or are you just saying this because it’s popular opinion, and other people told it to you?” Jesus wasn’t asking to obtain information. He was asking so Pilate could discover the truth about himself.

“Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?’” (John 18:35).

Without a doubt, Pilate did not expect the answer that he was about to hear from this bloodied, disfigured man standing before him.

“Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world'” (John 18:36).

At this moment, Jesus shows us how to deal with our post-everything world. Jesus loved this man. Jesus was probing Pilate and provoking Pilate to consider Him. Pilate could only come up with, “What IS truth?” That is the battle cry of our post-modern, post-Christian, post-Truth world!

We shouldn’t be shocked by post-modern man’s take on truth. We should be shocked at how Jesus — even after He had been brutally beaten and disfigured — loved this man and tried to draw him to the truth.

DON’T MISS THIS — Pilate was CONVINCED that Jesus was innocent. But he could see how volatile this situation was. Pilate had to make a decision between his CONSCIENCE — what he knew to be right about Jesus — and CONVENIENCE — a course of action that would bring him the least amount of grief.

We are always faced with the choice between conscience and convenience.

“You always said people don’t do what they believe in, they just do what’s most convenient, then they repent”– Bob Dylan

If Pilate had an ounce of integrity, it would have been, “I find no fault in this man” — PERIOD! But there was that ring he wore — that ring said that he was the “Friend of Caesar.” That relationship, and the prestige, the position and power it brought to him, was his idol. It was the very thing that defined him; the thing that he lived for. Pilate could not put a period at the end of his judgment because he knew that his decision was not the decision that was going to satisfy the Jews — and as a result, it was a threat to his idol — a threat to his status as governor and “Friend of Caesar.” So, Pilate immediately jumped on a potential escape route. By the way — in any and all wrong decisions concerning Jesus, the first course of action is to identify the idol.

That was Pilate’s official judgment — he made it on behalf of the Senate and the people of Rome. So, Pilate tried another potential escape route.

The Roman system of justice was unyielding. If you pronounced a man innocent, the authorities had no right to punish him after that. You were to let him go.

“But they all cried out together, ‘Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas’” (Luke 23:18).

Barabbas is mentioned in all four gospels — I believe — for very definite reasons. We don’t know a whole lot about him. “Bar-Abba” means “Son of the Father.” There are those who say that his name was actually Jesus Bar-abbas.

“In the hands of some first-century authors, however, the word depicts not simply a thief, but a terrorist”– D.A. Carson

Matthew tells us he was “a notorious prisoner” (Matthew 27:16). Luke and Mark tell us he was an insurrectionist and a murderer. He was scheduled to be crucified. In light of what transpired here, we can see that it was originally Barabbas who was going to be crucified on Golgotha between two other thieves.

Jesus died on the very cross Barabbas was going to die on.

If anyone could say, “Jesus died for me,” it was Barabbas. He knew that he was guilty. He knew that he was facing the death penalty. He knew that there was a piece of wood with his name on it waiting for him to carry outside of the city where they would nail him to it. He knew that he was released and that Jesus died in his place — the innocent for the guilty.

As brutal a man as he was, the shouts that he heard must have made him buckle. Then he heard the sound of the key unlocking his cell. He discovered that Jesus Christ was dying in his place. On a human level, try to imagine what that moment was like as he realized that the piece of wood that he was going to carry to his own death, was now going to be placed upon a substitute.

But we see it from an even more radical vantage point. Here is the best in the universe, God incarnate, and the worst in humanity, and whom do men choose? God incarnate dies in the place of the brutal Barabbas.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, KJV).

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

Remember — The Gospel is not religious advice.

The Gospel is the startling proclamation of what God did for us!

The Gospel is the startling proclamation that because of what God did for us, anyone can be right with God. The Gospel proclaims that God offers to open the prison cell, release us from the bondage of sin, and have Jesus die in our place.

“Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him” (John 19:1).

We don’t want to miss how brutal Pilate was willing to be to maintain the privileged status of wearing that ring that said, “Friend of Caesar.” He essentially said — “I’m not going to kill Him all the way — I’ll half-kill Him. When this mob sees Jesus torn to shreds, they will leave me alone, and I can be rid of Jesus.”

The first blows caused bleeding from the capillaries and veins. But as the blows continued in frequency and intensity, the back was torn to shreds, and there would be arterial bleeding. Once the hooks were sunk deeply into the tenderized flesh, the executioner would rip the skin, muscle, tendons and even bones off the victim. Victims would shake violently and bleed profusely.

History records that upon occasion, the hooks would go so deep that a rib would literally come flying off the body of a living man. Eyewitness accounts tell us that by the end of the Roman scourging, the victim’s back was a mass of hanging, unidentifiable flesh — and you could actually see internal organs! The victim would go into shock. His body was covered in blood. The Lictor would then untie the hands of the victim, and he would collapse in a pool of his own blood and flesh.

Seven hundred years before the scourging of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah predicted the results of Jesus’ scourging:

“Many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind” (Isaiah 52:14).

In the most personal way — Barabbas, the guilty man was released — the innocent Son of God was crucified in his place. THAT is the Gospel.

Does it blow your mind how gracious God was to Pilate? Jesus spoke to Pilate in His first civil trial before Pilate. Jesus continued to speak to Pilate the second time He stood before him.

DON’T MISS THIS — Pilate teaches us that whatever it is you hope to gain by compromising concerning Jesus — you can NEVER keep it! Within 10 years, Pilate would lose his position as Prefect and Governor of Judea and be sent back to Rome. By the time he was sent back to Rome, Tiberius had died. Caligula was Caesar. Caligula banished Pilate to the region known as Gaul where he ended up committing suicide. Here he had compromised everything in regard to Jesus in order to secure his identity as the “Friend of Caesar” — and his place in the Roman Empire. He chose friend of Caesar over friend of Jesus — the King of kings and Lord of lords.

You’ll have to kill Jesus or crown Jesus.

Voices and Choices: Kill Jesus or Crown Jesus. That is the decision that everyone must make. This is the decision that determines forever for you. This isn’t like the choice someone makes to flee approaching peril.

This is a decision to flee from eternal loss, eternal darkness — to the light of Jesus Christ. This is the decision to choose life over death.

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

Good Friday is a time when we remember the pain of the Lord on our behalf.

Indeed, Jesus suffered and died for us.

Have you ever tried to comprehend the feelings of the apostles and other followers of Jesus as they watched their Lord die on a cross so many years ago? Everything the followers of Christ had hoped for seemed to have been snatched from their hands in the space of a few hours. The apostles must have felt panic, fear, dismay, anger, hopelessness.

Perhaps they felt shame as they thought of going home and telling people that the Messiah, they gave up everything to follow, had just died on a cross—leaving them looking like hapless fools. I can only speculate how they felt. I doubt they were rejoicing though.

With all the pain they must have felt at watching their Lord die, I have often wondered what was so good about Good Friday.

Without the tragedy of the cross, there would be no hope for any of us.

The tragedy we remember on Good Friday is, in fact, the greatest victory in the history of mankind.

WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT GOOD FRIDAY?

When you think about it, the terminology we’ve used over the past centuries seems a little out of place. We are here to remember and to consider the death of Christ. Naturally, our minds wander back 2,000 years to another time and another place. Jerusalem. People gathered from all over the world to celebrate the Passover, and outside the walls of the city, the Passover Lamb hanging in public shame upon a cross.

All four Gospels are really rather matter of fact about the death of Christ. They each relate the historical events, and they each refrain from giving very much in the way of commentary as they describe those events. What commentary they do give comes from the lips of those who are present. The inscription over His cross proclaims Him to be the King of the Jews (John 19:19).

It points out that this Galilean rabbi was much more than just a King—- He was the one and future promised King who was, and who is, and who is to come—Alpha and Omega.

One of the thieves commented that “we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41). This points to the fact that Jesus died as an innocent sacrifice for the wrongs of others.

1. CHRIST DIED FOR SIN.

“For Christ also died for sins”(1 Peter 3:18)—He had none!

The death of Christ had both a very terrible, and at the same time, a very wonderful purpose. It was terrible in that it teaches us that our sin is quite terrible. It is wonderful in that it teaches us that God’s love is quite wonderful.

He died for sins in the sense that His death was PENAL. God’s law demanded punishment for sin. The death of Jesus was the answer to that demand—not on Him, on you and me! His death was a punishment for our sin—price paid–debt erased.

In the ancient world, it was customary that when a criminal was crucified, a list of his infractions that had led to his crucifixion would be nailed to his cross. The idea was that anyone who was contemplating committing the same crime would read this list and be warned. You know all about the inscription that Pilate had affixed to the cross of Jesus.

And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin and Hebrew (Luke 23:38).

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

But there was another inscription that day that was unseen by human eyes.

“And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).

Can you imagine what it would be like if someone were to follow you around and write down everything that you did, unbeknownst to you?

Every evil action, every improper thought, every wrong motive? It isn’t mere imagination.

There was a certificate of debt that we owed. It consisted of all the things that we had done wrong or that we would one day do wrong — after all, at the time of the cross, all of your actions and my actions were still future tense.

It consisted of our actions, our thoughts and our motivations. Everything that would cause us to hang our heads in shame before a holy and righteous God.

Nailed to the cross.

It isn’t that we weren’t guilty—We were and still are. But the penalty has been paid. The demands of the law have been met. He died for sins in the sense that His death was PRIESTLY. In Old Testament times, the people had to approach God on the basis of animal sacrifice. The regulations for worship were quite specific. For you to worship, death had to take place. And that was not all. Even after the sacrifice was offered, it did not mean that you could blissfully walk into the presence of God. You had to go through a mediator. You went to the priest, and he went into the presence of God.

2. CHRIST DIED FOR SIN ONCE–FOR ALL.

“For Christ also died for sins once for all” (1 Peter 3:18).

We come to the cross again and again, and that is perfectly appropriate. But the death of Christ was a once and for all event.

And as Jesus breathed His last, the veil in the Temple was torn in two– from heaven to earth—top to bottom—no man could make a way only God dying for our sin—heaven to earth (Mark 15:37-38).

That great veil, that had for so long a time stood for the separation that existed between God and men, was torn in two from top to bottom.

No more sacrifices. No more blood. No more animals to be slaughtered. The work was done. It was a once and for all event. It need never be repeated. In those times, when we’ve played the part of the lost sheep and have wandered away, we come to our senses and we wonder, “How can I ever make it right? How can I return and have the relationship I once enjoyed.”

It is at those times that He comes, and He says, “I died for sin once and for all. All anger has been satisfied once and for all. No other sacrifice is needed for you, Jeff.”

3. CHRIST’S DEATH INVOLVED THE JUST FOR THE UNJUST.

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust…”

Christ died our death. He who was innocent died in the place of we who were guilty. The death of Christ is a measure of our sinfulness. We have a tendency to downplay sin. It is a sign of our day and age that we don’t even like to talk about sin. Or else sin is relegated to the murderous actions of third world terrorists and since “I would never do a thing like that,” I can assuage my own brand of sins with the thought, “It really isn’t that bad.”

Now hear this—Your sin is really bad, and my sin is really bad. So bad that it took the death of the holy and righteous and just Son of God to put it away. He is the —–JUST ONE of our verse.

We read that He: “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust” (1 Peter 3:18).

This is the same truth that Paul expresses when he says:

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus is the just one who took upon Himself your injustice. He became sin on your behalf.

We have been credited with the righteousness of Christ. He is infinitely righteous. He has not merely imputed a portion of His righteousness to our account. Rather, the very nature of His character of complete righteousness has been credited to us. We are regarded by God as having the very righteousness of Christ.

Remember——what He did that day.

The seven last sayings of Jesus from the Cross:

1. Luke 23:32-34 The Perfect Prayer:

“Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.”–Perfect forgiveness

2. Luke 23:32-43 Eternal Life Today:

“Today you shall be with Me in Paradise”–Eternal life

3. John 19:26-27 Substituting for the Substitute:

“Woman, behold, your son!”–A new family

4. Matthew 27:46:

My God! My God! Why? “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”–Penalty paid

5. John 19:28-29:

“I Thirst; I Thirst.”–We’ll never be thirsty again

6. John 19:30 FINISHED!

“It is finished!”–Completed His mission

7. Luke 23:46:

“Father into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”–Made heaven our home!

Do you know Him?

The Bible tells us that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead on the Sunday after Passover. The risen Jesus met with and spoke with people for 40 days following that, including up to 500 people at a time (1 Corinthians 15:6). At the 40 day mark, He ascended to heaven, as His disciples watched. Ten days after that, on the day of the Jewish festival of Pentecost, one of His disciples preached about the risen Jesus to thousands of people. In that sermon, Peter spoke of Jesus as the one, “…Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2:24). Many years ago, that phrase caught my attention, and I am still amazed by it: It was not possible for Jesus to remain dead in the tomb. He had to rise. In the season of Easter and Resurrection, it’s good for us to think deeply about how Jesus had to live, had to die, and had to rise again.

Here are a few thoughts on why Jesus had to rise from the dead. It’s a short and incomplete list – feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments.

Jesus had to rise from the dead to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament.

The resurrection of the Messiah was described in the Hebrew Scriptures in Psalm 16:10 and spoken of in a prophetic sense in passages such as Hosea 6:2 and Jonah 1:17. Another example is the scenario in Genesis 22 where Isaac, as a picture of Jesus, is “raised” on the third day of their journey, at the beginning of which Abraham had reckoned his son dead.

Jesus had to rise from the dead to fulfill His own promises.

The promises Jesus made that He would raise from the dead are recorded in Matthew 16:21, 17:23 and 20:19 and in many other passages. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then He and His promises were lies. It was impossible for the One who is the way, the truth, and the life to remain dead.

Jesus had to rise from the dead to prove that the price was paid at the cross.

The price was paid at the cross, just as He said with His last word before giving up His spirit: It is finished, which could also be understood as paid in full. Yet, every payment needs a receipt. The empty tomb was the evidence that Jesus remained God’s Holy One (Acts 2:27), through the whole ordeal of the cross. God had to raise His Holy One from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus proved that He bore our sin without becoming a sinner.

Jesus had to rise from the dead to make certain of our resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:20 says that Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection that is promised to all His people. He was the beginning, and if it was real for Him, it will be real for all who have put their trust in Him. Romans 8:11 says it beautifully: “He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Jesus had to rise from the dead to show that death was defeated.

If death could not hold Jesus in the tomb, it proved that death had no power over Him. If death was defeated for Jesus, then it is defeated for all those who put their faith in Him who are identified with His death and resurrection. No wonder Paul could almost taunt death by saying, “O Death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55)

Jesus had to rise from the dead to bring hope and security to His followers.

Because of the victory Jesus won through the empty tomb, His people don’t have to live in fear of death or anything in our future. Hebrews 2:15 says that one aspect of the work of Jesus at the cross and resurrection was to release those who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For Jesus’ people, the fear and torment of uncertainty is gone.

Jesus had to rise from the dead to demonstrate the greatness of God’s power.

In Ephesians 1:19-20, the Apostle Paul prayed that believers would know the greatness of God’s power, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20). This is ultimate power, the power to give life to that which is dead. This is the power that God gives to us in Jesus Christ, and power for us to know and live in.

During this season of Easter and resurrection, think deeply on why Jesus had to rise, and especially all that His resurrection brings to those who repent and put their faith in Jesus. It’s something to not only know, but to live.

Years ago, I heard a pastor named Dave Rolph speak at a memorial service. He spoke about life and death, and he said something like this: “The reason we hate death so much is that God created a world where death didn’t exist. Our hearts rebel against the pain of separation, because it was never God’s original intent that death and sin would enter the world.” I can almost hear him speaking those words over a decade later. They resonated within the core of my heart and soul; my God did not create or desire death and suffering for His people.

Often, I return to this basic truth. Often, I speak it over myself, and my friends, as we walk through heartbreak. This week, my heart has broken: for misunderstandings, for lost loves, for the death of three friends, for the children who suffer, for the churches that are bulldozed in Calais refugee camps, for the reality of a world shattered by sin. As I have written before, these are the places where I must preach the Gospel to myself. I am reading through the minor prophets: Jonah, Micah, Habbakuk, Zephaniah. I wish I knew more people today with these names. This week, I encountered a verse I have missed until now: “You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed.” Habakkuk 3:13 In the places where we encounter pain and suffering, perhaps one of the most commonly asked questions is exceedingly simple: “Where is God?”

This question amplifies from a query to a scream in the places of pain in our lives. The escalation is quick but complete. If there is a good God, why is my world so broken? If there is a loving Father, how can He stand by and let our lives feel shattered? I am reminded, over and over again, that God is going forth for salvation. He accomplishes it in-and-through our pain and heartaches. He redeems refugee crises and leukemia diagnosis and even the grave. If you sit and tell me one hundred pains, I can sit and tell you one hundred miracles.

Our character is shaped by the places where we trust and see God redeeming good, even where our hearts break.

This week, I sat in a meeting and wept. I heard news of bitterness that caught me off guard with its harsh effects. As Christians, the redeemed body of a living King, we are called to pursue peace, holiness, and unity. What I heard was the opposite of these things, from other followers of Jesus. In light of this, I was reminded of another Scripture I discovered this week, Mark 6:12 in the MSG: “They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different.”

When our hearts break, we are reminded that our lives tell the story of a radically different ending. We proclaim, with an urgency that must also be joyful, that our God is king forever. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and His kingdom will never end. When our hearts break, catch sight of His love; and know that in the end of the story, our breathtaking joy will be seeing His love in our lives, forever and ever, world without end.