It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. Luke23:44-46
At the end of three hours of forsaken-ness on the cross, Jesus cried out "It is finished!" (Jn19:30) and the temple curtain separating the holy of holies from the rest of the temple tore from top to bottom.
Jesus, by dying the death of the cursed on the cross as an innocent, had effectively paid the price for our sin. ("Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." Gal.3:13)
Sin was the first of the enemies that He had come to destroy.
Now He would tackle our second enemy: Death.
And He tackles death in the same way as He conquered sin - He enters into it. At the end of the crucifixion, having effectively paid the price for our sin (that's why the curtain tore) Jesus breathes His last.
John is even more specific: Jesus bowed His head and gave up His Spirit (John19:30). They didn't take His life - He gave it. Jesus willingly faces the physical consequences of human sin - He takes on death - our most final enemy - because it is His plan to demolish it!
Paul describes this beautifully in 1Cor15:
v20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
v55 "Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
He takes no shortcuts - to conquer death on our behalf He experiences it and defeats it.
HALLELUJAH!
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Theo Groeneveld theo @ emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at emmdev[dot]blogspot[dot]com/
