A Public Spectacle

I sometimes wonder whether or not we fully understand and appreciate all Jesus has done for us. Even before the “only begotten God” was poured into humanity on that first Christmas morning, he had been actively involved in creation, in redemption, and in the calling out of a covenant community. But to reverse the curse, more was needed. And so Jesus came, “born of a woman, born under the law.” In his life and ministry Jesus announced the coming of the Kingdom and modeled a life lived in union with the Father. Some loved him and followed him; others hated him and plotted his demise.

Then came that week, those eight days we refer to as “Holy Week.” Every day was significant (more about this next week), but the culmination came on Friday. Do we really see all that Jesus accomplished during those Friday hours?

Theologians love to debate “theories of the atonement.” No matter what you favorite definition I think we can agree that Jesus accomplished a great work:

1.   Jesus died to paint a picture of the love of God. The extent to which God was willing to go to restore humanity to full fellowship was graphically shown on the cross.

2.   Jesus died to paint a picture of God’s hatred of sin. While God loves every human person with a perfect love, God hates sin with a perfect hatred. It is sin that is killing the human race; it is sin that has warped the very fiber of God’s good creation. Because God is holy, God can perfectly hate sin while perfectly loving sinners.

3.   Jesus died to deal a death blow to the kingdom of Satan. With the fall of the human race the authority of Adam and Eve was assumed by Satan; with the death of Jesus that authority was snatched away by Jesus, who even now rules as King of kings and Lord of lords.

4.   Jesus died to pay the price for the human rebellion against God, to provide enough grace to cancel out all human sin. Because Jesus was fully human and fully divine, his death was sufficient to take the place of every human being, to win salvation for everyone.

The apostle Paul put it so well: “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by  Christ,  having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:9-12). Jesus was not just a simple carpenter from Nazareth; the fullness of Deity existed in his physical body – a mystery. The fullness of humanity also existed in Christ, making it possible for fallen human beings to begin their journey back to completion. Jesus came as the King of God’s kingdom, having all the authority of heaven behind him. This is the Jesus we have identified ourselves with.

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14). Every human being is born separated from God; death is the only possible outcome for human existence apart from God. It was Jesus who took our death penalty on himself; it was Jesus who took all the evidence proving our guilt and nailed it to the cross. But more than that, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). Like a triumphant Roman general, Jesus won the decisive victory against all the powers of hell. Jesus stripped Satan and his army, taking away their authority, and led them naked through the streets for all to see. Some believers see Jesus accomplishing this grand victory at his second coming. Others see it happening on Easter Sunday morning. Paul declared that this public spectacle happened on the cross! When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he was referring to all the work of salvation and restoration, to the establishment of his authority, not only in heaven but now also on the earth.

When Jesus freely, willingly poured his life out to restore humanity, to restore creation, he was showing the world his love for the Father, his love for human persons, his commitment to defeat the enemy of sin, and his authority over Satan. Remember Job. Satan accused God of a failed attempt to create beings who would willingly love and serve God. Satan claimed that people serve God only when he blesses them; that if the blessings were taken away, they would not serve God. Satan claimed that human beings would never freely love God just because he was God. Job proved Satan wrong. Even more profoundly, Jesus proved Satan wrong on the cross. And now we have the opportunity to prove Satan wrong, by deciding to turn to God and receive the salvation Jesus accomplished for us. Now we can decide to love God – just because he is God. That is eternal life!