As Easter Sunday approaches I can’t help but think about what this week represents for mankind:
Not getting what we deserve so that we can get what we don’t deserve.
The Gospels tell us that Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey receiving shouts of praise from some of the same people who would ultimately shout praises for his crucifixion (Jn 12:12). Knowing that the reason he stepped out of Heaven and into our world in the form of a man is about to be revealed on a grand scale and spread like wildfire across the world and throughout generations to come. Each step that he took was a step closer to facing the most brutal form of execution that the Roman Empire has ever conceived.
He would soon be arrested (Jn 18:12), tried wrongly (Jn 18:38), proclaimed guilty, and sentenced to death on a cross (Jn 19). And so it was that he was nailed to a cross to die for the sins and brokenness of man and of the world (Jn 19)
As you know, the story doesn’t end there though. Plenty of people have been crucified to crosses throughout history. However, one of the most rousing distinctions of Jesus’ crucifixion is that although he died on the cross, it couldn’t keep him dead (Jn 20).
Three days later (the reason we even celebrate Easter Sunday) Jesus walked out of his borrowed tomb to put a bloodstained stamp on all of our sins that reads, “FORGIVEN-PARDONED-LOVED.” Grace. Grace. Grace.
One of the coolest things about this is that he died for all of the horrific, dirty, selfish sins that we will ever produce: cheating, lying, stealing, murdering, lust, inconsistency in our faith, worry, gossip, slander, and hatred, just to name a few.
But he also died for the honorable sins too. The ones where we try really hard to be good. The ones where we try to give Jesus boundaries in our lives that he can’t cross. In the times where we just try to manage our sin rather than kill it.
My point is that Jesus died just as much for spiritual pride as he did for lust, murder, and deceitfulness. He died for the sins in our hearts that make us like the Pharisees and the sins in our hearts that make us like Barabbas.
I believe that when it comes to Jesus’ life, we don’t have a problem believing he was sinless. When it comes to his death we don’t have a problem believing that he died for our sins. On a heart level, what I think we have trouble believing is that he resurrected from the grave. Not that we can’t believe it, but rather, deep in our hearts, we don’t want to.
Because if he really did conquer the grave that makes him the Messiah. Following a good man who lived a long time ago, who did some good things, who died for a good cause, is easy. But following Jesus the Messiah who defeated death means that I have no good in me. It means that any flame of spiritual pride inside of us is doused by the atoning work of the Cross and the only response is to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into Holiness rather than us work ourselves into what Christian Smith calls ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism’, or more simply put, living a morally good life so that we can pat ourselves on the back when we behave.
Following Jesus means continuously putting to death our flesh and getting off the throne of our own heart so He can take his seat. He’s not a hood ornament for us to decorate our lives with, but rather, a gracious Savior to whom we owe every breath.
When we begin to grasp the love that Jesus had for each of us by stepping between God and us on the cross, we will then view Christianity as a vehicle of freedom rather than a set of rules to add onto our lives.
