He has done it all for us
March 16, 2008 (Palm Sunday)
The central fact of the Bible is the one great redemptive act of God that was accomplished in Christ: his death, burial and resurrection. It is the highest ground of Biblical revelation; all other truths flow from its lofty peak.
He died for me. He died for you. He died for us all.
Let there be no mistake: sin has entered God’s world, and nothing has been the same since. It built a huge wall between God and man, his crowning creation. It erected a barrier that God felt compelled to breach. It created a gap that God bridged with the cross of Christ. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8 NIV).
When Jesus came into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, it was to accomplish his mission: to die for the sins of all mankind. He died for us. His death makes salvation possible for all, because he died in our place on the cross. “He was wounded for our transgressions..” (Isa 53).
His death has a very practical implication for our daily lives: when we suffer, we can remember that he knows what suffering is, how much it hurts, and how badly we want to be relieved of its pain. He has experienced it himself, in our behalf.
In our daily walk with Christ, we have discovered that his way is the way of the cross. If we truly walk in his footsteps, we will walk the way of the cross. Jesus called upon all of us to “take up the cross daily” and follow him. What that means is different for each of us, but it is the way we must live as a child of God.
It is fitting that “Holy Week,” which ends with Jesus dead and buried, should begin with the joyful and triumphal entry, with gladness and singing and praise, for when they came to visit his grave on the next Sunday morning, they were surprised by joy, making the tremendous discovery that “He Lives!”
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HE LIVES
I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today.
I know that He is living, whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.
He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me, and talks with me,
Along life’s narrow way.
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart!