Jesus Flipped the Script

Jesus Flipped the Script

Text: Colossians 2:13–15 NIV

13 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, 14 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. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Introduction:

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book where you thought you had it all figured out—only for everything to suddenly change? Every good story has a twist. Just when you think it’s over—when the villain seems victorious and the hero defeated—suddenly, everything changes. The ending is rewritten. The powerless rises. The enemy falls. That’s what happened at the cross. On Friday, Jesus looked like the victim. By Sunday, He was the victor. At Calvary, it looked like evil had the last word. But on Resurrection morning, Jesus flipped the script—turning shame into salvation, defeat into deliverance, and death into victory!

Opening Illustration:

A painting called Checkmate shows Satan defeating a man in a chess game. But a world champion studied the board and said, “The king has one more move.” That’s what happened when Jesus rose. Hell shouted “checkmate,” but heaven declared, “Game over.

Throughout the Bible, we see God flipped the script many times.

1. Joseph – From the Pit to the Palace

Flip: Betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery, falsely accused and imprisoned—yet God raised him to become second in command in Egypt.

2. Moses – From Fugitive to Freedom Fighter

Flip: Once a murderer hiding in the desert, Moses became the deliverer of Israel and God’s mouthpiece before Pharaoh.

3. Rahab – From Harlot to Heroine of Faith

Flip: A Canaanite prostitute who hid Israelite spies. She believed in the God of Israel and became part of the Messianic lineage.

4. David – From Shepherd Boy to King

Flip: Overlooked by his family and underestimated by others, David was chosen by God, defeated Goliath, and became Israel’s greatest king.

5. Esther – From Orphan to Queen and Deliverer

Flip: A young Jewish orphan became queen and risked her life to save her people from genocide.

And time and time again we’ve seen God Flipped the script in our lives 1. Hopelessness to Hope

Flip: He turns our “I don’t see a way” into “I know God is making a way.”

2. Fear to Faith

Flip: God replaces panic with peace, fear with trust, and trembling with triumph.

3. Sickness to Strength

Flip: God is still Jehovah Rapha—the healer who flips suffering into testimonies of strength.

4. Brokenness to Blessing

Flip: God uses broken pieces to build beautiful purposes.

5. Worry to Worship

Flip: When we lift our eyes to God, He turns worry into worship and problems into praise.

Transition:

The resurrection is not just a happy ending—it’s a divine reversal. In Colossians 2, Paul pulls back the curtain on what really happened on the cross and at the tomb. It wasn’t just a religious event—it was a complete cosmic turnaround.

At the time Paul wrote this letter a dangerous teaching was creeping into the church. The Colossians were being told: “Jesus isn’t enough. You need rules, rituals, visions, or secret knowledge.”

• Paul’s answer: “Jesus flipped the script!” You were dead, now you’re alive. You were guilty, now you’re forgiven. You were oppressed, now you’re victorious.

Sometimes in life, the story seems set—tragedy is written in, defeat is inked in bold, and all hope appears lost. But then, God steps in and flips the script.

That’s what happened on Resurrection Sunday. Paul’s theological “Resurrection anthem,” declaring that Jesus didn’t just rise—He rewrote the entire narrative.

Let’s examine four ways Jesus flipped the script, as revealed.

I. Christ Canceled the Charges.

v14 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.

A. The Crime Was Clear

The charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us;

The “charge” here refers to a handwritten record of debt—a legal document listing every violation of God’s law. It wasn’t fabricated or exaggerated—it was accurate. Romans 3:23 reminds us, “All have sinned and fall short.”

• The “charge of our legal indebtedness” refers to a certificate of debt a written record of all we owed due to our sin.

• In our case, this was a detailed list of every sin, every violation of God’s holy law.

• This document was “against us” — meaning we had no defense. The law proved us guilty.

• Under the Law, we were legally and spiritually guilty. Every infraction, every failure, every offense stood as a written indictment before a holy God.

Illustration:

Imagine a courtroom where the prosecutor reads a scroll that keeps unrolling—listing every thought, word, and deed of disobedience you’ve ever done. No lies, no hiding, no excuses. That’s what stood against us.

• Paul says it not only stood against us —

• “Which stood against us and condemned us” — This debt wasn’t silent; it had a voice. It accused us, condemned us, and declared us guilty. It’s as if every sin we committed was written down in a book testifying against us in God’s court.

Illustration:

Picture standing before a judge with surveillance footage, fingerprints, and eyewitnesses—all proving your guilt. That’s how clear the charge of our sin was.

Not only,

A. The Crime Was Clear.

B. The Contract Was Crossed Out.

“Having canceled the charges Stop carrying what Christ already canceled. The word “canceled” is meaning .”to wipe out, blot out, or wash away completely.

• In ancient times, ink didn’t contain acid like today, so it didn’t bite into the parchment. That meant it could be wiped off without a trace.

• Paul says Jesus took the list of our sins and completely wiped it clean—like it was never there. Jesus didn’t just stamp it “paid”—He erased the entire record. • But Jesus didn’t just pay the debt—He nullified the entire contract by His blood.

Colossians 1:20 – “…and through him to reconcile all things… making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Illustration:

Think of it like a credit report that had every missed payment and penalty listed. But when Christ stepped in, He didn’t negotiate new terms—He deleted the debt and gave you His perfect score.

Application:

You don’t owe anything to your past anymore. Christ paid in full and shredded the receipt. You are free from spiritual debt!

• Jesus didn’t just cross out your sins—He replaced the record with His righteousness.

• 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

• Now when heaven looks at your record, it doesn’t see your past—it sees Jesus’ perfection.

Application: Stop rehearsing what Jesus already removed. Believers must live like forgiven people, not spiritual fugitives.

Not only,

A. The Crime Was Clear.

B. The Contract Was Crossed Out.

C. The Case Was Closed.

he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

There is no double jeopardy in grace..

v. 14 – “he has taken it away…”

a. He Took Our Penalty ,He Took Our Place

• He bore the full weight of the law’s condemnation.

v. 14 – “nailing it to the cross”

• In Roman times, a list of crimes was nailed to the cross over the criminal’s head.

• Our crimes? Nailed. And with every hammer strike — a sin was silenced.

This means Jesus didn’t just file away the record of our sin—He removed it completely.

• The sin that once condemned us was carried by Christ and then cleared through the cross.

• Psalm 103:12 – “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Because the debt is paid, the law has no more claim. • By nailing our sins to the cross, Jesus stripped Satan of his greatest weapon: accusation.

• Revelation 12:10 – “…the accuser of our brothers and sisters… has been thrown down.”

• The devil had a case, but Jesus had the cross. And the cross won.

Illustration:

It’s like a prosecutor who shows up to court, ready to accuse you—only to find that the judge has already dismissed the case and burned the evidence.

Application:

You no longer need to argue with your past, your critics, or even yourself. The Judge of Heaven already ruled in your favor. “No condemnation” means no retrial.

The charges were legitimate, but Christ absorbed the penalty and settled the case forever.

Illustration: Like a judge not only dropping charges but burning the entire file—Jesus destroyed the evidence against us.

Not only,

I. Christ Canceled the Charges.

II. Christ Cleansed the Condemned.

v13 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, Before Christ, we weren’t bad people needing help—we were dead people needing life.

A. The Stain Was Set

Dead in your sins…

• Sin didn’t just touch us—it stained us. And the longer a stain sets, the harder it is to remove.

• We weren’t born neutral—we were born with a nature stained by sin, and every action added to the blot.

• This wasn’t surface-level sin—it was soul-deep corruption

Jeremiah 2:22 – “Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Sovereign Lord.

Illustration:

If you’ve ever spilled red wine on a white carpet, you know—if you don’t clean it immediately, it sets in.

That’s how sin works. The longer we live in it, the deeper it embeds itself into our hearts.

Paul’s use of “dead” implies spiritual paralysis. A person who is dead in sin cannot clean themselves or cry out for help.

• The stain of sin is not on the outside alone—it permeates our thoughts, motives, desires, and direction.

• Our good works cannot cleanse us. Religious rituals can’t remove guilt. The stain was set so deep that only the blood of Jesus could wash it clean.

Isaiah 1:18 – “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”

• Before Christ, we were not sick in sin—we were dead (Ephesians 2:1). Dead things don’t move, respond, or revive themselves.

• “Uncircumcision” refers to the Gentile condition—outside the covenant, spiritually disconnected.

“Uncircumcision of the flesh” reflects exclusion from covenant promises. We were spiritually estranged.

Not only,

A. The Stain Was Set.

B. The Savior Stepped In.

God made you alive…”

• We didn’t seek Him first—He sought us.

God took the initiative to revive us…

• Salvation was God’s idea, God’s initiative, and God’s work from beginning to end.

• This phrase echoes Ephesians 2:4-5 – “But because of His great love for us… God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ…”

God made you alive with Christ.The verb “made alive”is used only a few times in the New Testament. It’s a compound verb—(to give life) with the prefix “sun” (together)—meaning we were raised together with Christ. Our resurrection is tied to His. With Christ” — This is the heartbeat of Paul’s theology: union with Christ.

• We didn’t just receive life—we received His life.

• God didn’t just revive us individually—He connected us eternally to Jesus.

• His death became ours… His resurrection became ours… His victory became ours.

Illustration:

Imagine being in a coma on life support with no hope of recovery. Then the doctor comes in and does something miraculous—you wake up, breathing and vibrant.

That’s what Jesus did—not CPR, but resurrection power.

Every child of God has experienced this spiritual resurrection’ when the Lord saves them.

And then, suddenly it seems

that the sky is much bluer

..that the grass is much greener…

.that the flowers are much lovelier,

.that the sun is much brighter

that the burden is much lighter..

that the problems are much smaller.

that the music is much sweeter…..

that the cares are much fewer…

-that the joy is much fuller…

.that the blessings are much richer…

-that the miracle is much greater…

And, suddenly it seems. .

..that the day is now worth living.

Not only,

A. The Stain Was Set.

B. The Savior Stepped In.

C. The Shame Was Subtracted.

He forgave us all our sins.”

“All Our Sins”

• Paul is clear: not some, not most, but all our sins were forgiven—past, present, and future.

• Nothing is too big for grace, too ugly for mercy, or too old for redemption.

• Forgiveness in this verse implies a gracious, undeserved pardon—not earned but gifted.

Psalm 103:12 – “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

He Forgave Us”

• This wasn’t therapy, religion, or effort—it was Jesus who did the forgiving.

• Forgiveness is not a human achievement but a divine act of love through the cross.

• Only the One who was sinned against has the authority to forgive.

Isaiah 43:25 – “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake…

Application:

Stop trying to earn what Christ already paid for. Let His forgiveness set you free from guilt and move you forward in grace.

Not only,

I. Christ Canceled the Charges.

II. Christ Cleansed the Condemned.

III. Christ Conquered the Captors.

15a“And having disarmed the powers and authorities…”

A. He Stripped Satan Strength.

“Disarmed” means to strip of weapons.

• The phrase “having disarmed” means to strip off or take away forcefully.

Paul uses strong military language here—Christ “disarmed” meaning He stripped the enemy like a defeated soldier on the battlefield.

He rendered hell’s arsenal useless.

• Jesus didn’t negotiate with darkness—He disarmed it. He stripped the enemy of his legal authority to accuse, condemn, or control.

Not only,

A. He Stripped Satan Strength

B. He Silenced Satan Speech.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities…

Satan has always been loud—with lies, accusations, and intimidation. He is called the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). Jesus silenced Satan’s speech by disarming his power, dismantling his platform, and displaying his defeat.

But on the cross, Jesus stripped him of his weaponry and silenced his voice. Now, his roar is just a whisper, his case has been thrown out, and his platform is crumbling.

Jesus didn’t just forgive us—He silenced every voice that ever tried to condemn us.

Not only,

A. He Stripped Satan Strength

B. He Silenced Satan Speech.

C. He Shattered Satan Scheme

Jesus shattered Satan’s scheme. The very thing the enemy meant for evil, God used for eternal good.

Exposition: Colossians 1:13 says He “delivered us from the domain of darkness.” Every demonic plan was unraveled at Calvary.

Illustration: Like a commander removing an enemy general’s sword, rank, and voice—Christ dismantled hell’s power structure.

Because of what Jesus Christ accomplished at Calvary. we don’t have to submit to the power of sin and Satan. Christ was victorious over them.

Because He overcame...we are made overcorners through Him and his blood. Therefore. .

… we don’t have to rely only upon our own strength in order to be victorious…

...we don’t have to fret and worry regarding how it will all tum out.

...we don’t have to become discouraged when Satan lurks about us…..we can resist him…

and…..we don’t have to allow the devil to cause us to live a ‘defeated’ lifestyle...! “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Not only,

I. Christ Canceled the Charges

II. Christ Cleansed the Condemned

III. Christ Conquered the Captors

IV. Christ Celebrated the Conquest (v.15b)

“He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

A. The Procession Was Public

Roman generals would parade their enemies through the streets after victory. Jesus made a public display of Satan’s defeat. The cross wasn’t a setback—it was a showcase.

B. The Power Was Permanent

The word “triumph” refers to total, irreversible victory. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The resurrection wasn’t temporary—it was eternal.

C. The Praise Was Personal

Because Christ triumphed, so do we. 2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ.” His win is our walk.

Closing:

The cross was never a sign of defeat—it was a platform for victory.

The place of public shame became the stage for Christ’s greatest triumph.

When Jesus died, it looked like the enemy had won. The sky went dark. The earth shook. The tomb was sealed.

But early Sunday morning, the stone was rolled away—not to let Jesus out, but to let the world in to see that He is risen!

Jesus didn’t sneak out of the grave quietly—He walked out in glory.

He didn’t hide His victory—He put it on display.

He didn’t just win the battle—He held up the trophy of grace and said, “It is finished!”

Colossians says He made a public spectacle of the enemy—stripped him of his weapons, exposed his weakness, and walked in triumph.

He flipped the script on Satan.

He flipped the script on sin.

He flipped the script on death.

And today, He can flip the script in your life.

No matter what chapter you’re in—Jesus is the Author and Finisher of your faith.

No matter how broken your story has been—He still holds the pen.

No matter how dark your night has been—resurrection is still possible.

So, child of God, hold your head high.

The cross says your debt is canceled.

The empty tomb says your future is secured.

And the gospel says your story isn’t over—because Jesus flipped the script.

Now go live like the page has turned.

Walk in victory.

Stand in freedom.

And tell the world—“Jesus flipped the script for me, and He can flip it for you too!”

He changed death into destiny, graves into gateways, and brokenness into blessing.