As today is Easter and I have recently finished reading St. Athanasius, Cyril, and Gregory who wrote on the issue, Christ’s incarnation and resurrection have been on my mind a lot lately. I’ve been thinking through a lot of ideas, I just don’t know that I’ll be able to flesh them all out properly so that they’ll make sense… but I’ll try anyways.
The other day, I started thinking about the cross and what the whole scene really means. I thought about how Jesus’ death covered for the sins of all people. Every single person has sinned so every single person deserves to die. But Jesus died in my place and in the place of every person ever created so that we all could be made clean and, thus, eligible for Heaven. As I thought about it, I realized that I didn’t quite understand how that all worked – how could one man’s death serve as a sacrifice for every person’s every sin? I don’t understand it, but I certainly believe it. Then I thought about how much that must have hurt – Jesus took on every sin of every person and bore all, total, complete, whole,etc. shame! He took on the full wrath of God who, as Lord and sovereign Master over all creation, would have terrible wrath. But Christ endured it; He suffered ultimate pain for the very purpose of cleaning off our slates. As I continued to think this thought through, I was reminded of the even-better news of Christ’s resurrection. Not only did Jesus take on the sins of the world in death, but then He rose from the dead, conquering our sin and declaring that even the ultimate pain He suffered was no match for His supreme power and love. This all made me recognize that I serve a King who is more than a conqueror; I serve an ultimate Master. Furthermore, because I am now a part of Christ’s family through His sacrifice, I too am more than a conqueror. I am part of the body of Christ and the love that binds me to Him is so strong that absolutely nothing has the power to break it. I borrow the words of Paul, here, to say that I am convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:38-39); His painful death and glorious resurrection are proof that He is more than a conqueror, that He is supreme, that He is Master... O Praise the King.
Then I started thinking about the incarnation – how Jesus is both God and man. I just can’t stop thinking through the idea that His identity truly validates my salvation. I understand that in order to save me, my Savior would have to be God (or else he wouldn’t have the power) and he would have to be man (or it would be impossible for him to die and, simultaneously, his perfection would be meaningless). I am confident, however, that Jesus Christ was indeed both completely God and completely man. He is the only one to fulfill all requirements of a Savior. It is precisely because He meets all qualities of a Savior that I know His actions in sacrifice and resurrection can be considered legitimate. Furthermore, if what He did was legitimate, I know that I really am free and that my salvation is real. I am saved! I am free from sin and death! I am indeed headed for Heaven where I shall see Him in His ineffable and inextinguishable glory! This is real; it’s True. Heaven is my destination and I am sure of it because I know that my Savior died, taking on the sins of the world and burying them, and rose again, conquering those sins and the death that had ensnared us! Now, sin and death have absolutely no power over us. Death has completely lost its sting… and if the stinger is gone, what is there to fear?
"Death has been swallowed up in victory. 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." -1 Corinthians 15:55
Christ is victorious over sin and death and, since we are in Him, we are victorious over these as well! The story of Jesus does not end in death… and, thanks to Him, neither does ours. Through His death and resurrection Christ really did save us and made us all eligible for heaven. Our salvation is validated; it’s legitimate! This is the Good News!
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