Triumphant in Death
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As a young man, before I was saved, there were several things about this time of year that confused me.
What do bunnies and eggs have to do with Jesus?
Why is the day Jesus died called GOOD Friday?
Wasn’t that a sad time?
And why was Jesus entry into Jerusalem so triumphant?
After becoming a disciple of Jesus, and years of studying Scripture, there are still plenty of things about our Lord that confuse me.
But not these questions, not any more.
Bunnies and Eggs
Bunnies and Eggs
Sure, bunnies and eggs are both fertility symbols.
They have NOTHING to do with Jesus or His resurrection.
But as has frequently happened, the church as tried to overtake the rites and holidays by putting a “christian” spin on them.
That’s also why I try to refer to this day as Resurrection Sunday, not Easter.
Good Friday
Good Friday
What is so good about Jesus’ death?
That’s a question that I had, and one I am often asked.
I believe we celebrate the death of Jesus as Good Friday for two reasons.
First, it was the fulfillment of Jesus task on earth.
Yes, there was more that Jesus was to do while on earth.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
But the fulfillment of His purpose was the cross.
“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
Second, His voluntary death paid for the sins of the world.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
To my mind, this is a very good thing,
Making the day we remember a very Good Friday indeed.
Triumphal Entry
Triumphal Entry
Which left me with the Triumphal Entry,
Or as we call it today, Palm Sunday, for the branches that were cut down to celebrate His coming to Jerusalem.
The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!”
Do you think the crowd understood what they were celebrating?
After all, they called Him King of Israel,
He even rode into Jerusalem riding on a donkey’s colt.
Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
Which would lead one to believe they were expecting Jesus to triumph over Rome and return the Davidic kingdom.
But at fulfilling the crowd’s expectations, Jesus was a failure.
Not because Jesus had failed, but because the crowd had failed to understand the Scriptures about Him.
Jesus’ triumph came in a completely different way.
But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
OK, this probably sounded better to the crowd,
Jesus would be glorified,
But not as they expected.
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
Wait, I thought you were here to be glorified,
What is this talk about dying?
You’re the Messiah, the King of Israel,
Shouldn’t you be kicking the Romans out?
Not talking about dying.
But look at what Jesus is saying.
If I stay, I am alone,
But if I die, I will produce much fruit.
Jesus’ triumph that does was not that He died,
Or even that He would produce much fruit.
It was the triumph over the devil
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
It was triumph over sin itself.
So why is there still sin in the world?
On June 6, 1944, the allies invaded Nazi controlled Europe.
Even though the war in Europe didn’t officially end until almost a year later May 8, 1945,
The D-Day invasion was the triumphal entry of freedom into Europe.
Just as in WWII, the triumphal entry is not the end of the war, but the beginning of the end.
And just as thousands were killed and wounded between D-Day and V-E Day, millions have suffered between the triumph of Christ and the eventual surrender of Satan.
Jesus’ triumph was not the wonderful works He did while on earth,
Jesus triumphed in His death,
His voluntary death on a cross,
A sacrifice for all the world.
Or as Paul put it…
So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Two thousand years ago, a crowd welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem in triumph and victory.
Even though they did not understand either the plan or the victory.
To man, it appeared Jesus had lost, when He had actually won.
Today, we celebrate that entry into Jerusalem, and the victory that was won.
Let us not make this Sunday about palm branches,
Neither should we make next Sunday about bunnies.
Rather, let us use this Sunday to remember the sacrifice that was made,
And next Sunday as the victory that was won.