Tuesday, April 29, 2014
1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
MANKIND DIED -- CHRIST DIED
On our salvation flow chart the first question would be, "Did humans sin and die?" The answer is yes, so we proceed to the Promise of the Savior. Humans sinned and God promised them the Savior from sin, one who would crush the head of the serpent, Satan. In the process of doing this, the Savior Himself would be injured, for the LORD promised that His heel would be bruised, or crushed while crushing the serpent's head. As the years passed and the promise of the Savior became more specific, it became more apparent that this Savior would die in the process of saving sinful humans.
Isaiah writes of this Savior, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities ..." (Isaiah 53:5). His death would be the payment for our sin, for, as it is written, "The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6).
As the Scriptures teach, it is Christ who died and it is Christ who rose from the dead. When Jesus died on the cross to pay for sin, He really and truly died. We are told that, "When He had cried out with a great voice, He gave up the ghost." The Roman soldiers at the foot of the cross proved that Jesus died when they did the natural thing: they took a spear and stuck it in His side to see if He was really dead. Maybe you've done that yourself with an animal. You know it's dead if it doesn't move. Christ Jesus didn't move. In fact, we are told, "one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out" (John 19:34). So it is Christ who died, bodily, upon the cross to pay for our sins.
But Easter is not a somber time! Christ died, but He did not remain in the grave! He is risen! Sin is paid for! Jesus lives!
The foe was triumphant when on Calvary
The Lord of creation was nailed to the tree.
In Satan's domain his hosts shouted and jeered,
For Jesus was slain, whom the evil ones feared.
But short was their triumph, the Savior arose,
And death, hell, and Satan he vanquished, his foes;
The conquering Lord lifts his banner on high.
He lives, yes, he lives, and will nevermore die.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 198:2-3)
