Such a wonderful thing we celebrate today! But what does it really mean that Jesus conquered death? What does it mean for us – for people – for those created in His image? We all know what happened with the serpent in the garden, with Adam and Eve…let’s start there.
“A serpent* entered the Garden of Eden to tempt Adam and Eve. God had given food from every tree in the garden but commanded the man and woman not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve believed the serpent, ate of the fruit, then gave it to Adam who also ate of the fruit (Genesis 3:6).”
Think about this…
Adam & Eve were living a perfect sinless life in total fellowship with God.
They had only one rule to follow to remain pure and therefore able to commune with God, who cannot abide by sin in any form.
When the serpent tempted them, they have to make a choice, to be obedient, or to disobey their single command.
Adam & Eve made the choice to disobey, which instantly severed the perfect fellowship they had with the holy God; they were no longer sinless.
They acted upon that choice: they considered the serpent’s words…they acted upon those words…they took the fruit…they ate of the fruit.
Their choice to consider temptation, to act upon the temptation of the moment over the promises of God, changed the world forever…
Now think about this…
We live an imperfect sinful life in broken fellowship with God.
We have many commands to follow to commune with God, who cannot abide by sin in any form.
When God calls to us, we have to make a choice, to listen/obey, or to turn away/disobey His call.
When we make the choice to disobey, we remain out of fellowship with the holy God; we remain sinful.
We act upon our choice: we can consider God’s words…we can act upon God’s words…we can take His offer…we can return to full fellowship with Him.
For those who consider God’s words and act upon His offer and accept the promises of God, our lives are changed forever…and ever…into all eternity!
THIS is why Jesus came.
The choice of Adam and Eve brought sin into the perfect world that God had given them, and therefore broke the perfect eternal fellowship they were created to enjoy with their perfectly holy Father, now led to death. Separation from God. “…just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men…” (Romans 5:12)
God, in desiring the relationship for which He created us, designed a temporary fix consisting of animal sacrifice, to substitute the life of the creature for the life of man. “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” (Lev. 17:11) For man still chose sin over obedience, continually. So continual sacrifices were required – the blood of the creature in lieu of the blood of the sinner, setting the sinner free of the consequences of their sin. Yet still, death remains…
Death: the result of sin. The end of life. The unfathomable consequence for our choices, for choosing disobedience, for choosing to reject God’s plan for us, and choosing sin over fellowship with Him.
Until…God gave the Perfect Sacrifice…sending Jesus, fully God and also fully man…emptied Himself taking the form of a servant…the fullness of the deity dwelling bodily…becoming flesh and dwelling among men…one with the Father…yet tempted in every respect as every other man – yet without sin. A perfectly pure, holy, sinless sacrifice…to substitute His own Son as the human form, one with the Father…the blood of the Son in lieu of the blood of the sinner, setting sinners free of the consequences of our sin. We were bought with a price…
Rejected even in His holiness by the world. Tortured. Mocked. Beaten and lashed beyond recognition. He paid our debt. Bearing the sins we commit in our bodies, in His own body. Killed in the most painful and cruel possible way. Accepting death in our place. What we deserved for our disobedience, He took upon Himself. They killed Him, then they buried Him…
The evil one rejoiced that he had won, he was finally done with Him, that he now was victorious! Sin and death would reign forever!
But on the third day…the empty tomb proved him wrong. Even death had been conquered and God remained victorious! The evil reign would end! And through Jesus, each of us can join in that victory!
Only in conquering sin and death – only in becoming the Ultimate Sacrifice – could God return us to full fellowship with Him, in His Holiness. And only by making a choice, to be obedient to Him, we can consider God’s words…we can act upon God’s words…we can take His offer…we can return to full fellowship with Him and overcome the consequences of sin, forever!
“Sin came into the world because of what one man did. And with sin came death. So this is why all people must die—because all people have sinned…Adam died because he sinned by not obeying God’s command. But even those who did not sin that same way had to die.
“One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that one man. But now some people accept God’s full grace and his great gift of being made right. Surely they will have true life and rule through the one man, Jesus Christ.
“Sin once used death to rule us. But God gave us more of his grace so that grace could rule by making us right with him. And this brings us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” **
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)
We each must make our own choice!
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
* “that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray” (Rev 12:7)
** selections from Romans 5:12-21 (ERV)
As always, I urge you to read the chosen selections in context in your own Bible. (And know that the entire Word of God is context for itself.) For further reading, these area some of the resources I used:
Answers in Genesis: Adam and Eve
Got Questions: Blood Sacrifice
Wonderful Words of Life
See also these pages from the Open Bible site, a favorite of mine for topical studies, cross reference, and further understanding of certain concepts:
Jesus Christ Fully Man Fully God
Jesus Paid The Price
How To Get Saved
Following Jesus
Please feel free to listen to the music that I chose to accompany today’s slide show as you click through, and consider, each of the images.
Deuteronomy 30:19
NIV
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.
AMEN!
Great post, He is risen!
He is risen indeed!