The Three Crosses of Easter
Happy Easter Weekend. This is a significant weekend to us as followers of Jesus. This is the weekend we remember, reflect on, and celebrate the life, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. I have been mediating a lot on this “Holy Silent Saturday.” This is the day that all was quiet. But hope was coming. This is the day that we can remember that God sees all we are walking through, even silently & alone, and hope is coming.
This Easter season I have been reflecting a lot on all this season means. It is easy, especially if you grew up around God and the church, for this just to become another season, another tradition, another holiday. But Easter is anything but that.
This is the climax of all human history.
This is the weekend that changed the course of eternity.
This is the day that God had ordained before the world even began.
Before I go any further, I want you to know that almost none of what I am about to share is original with me but things I have been mediating on from a myriad of places.
As I reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus lots of thoughts enter my mind. The weight of sin. The cost of sin. The result of sin. The burden of sin. Before they laid the man on the cross they laid the cross on the man. Our sin was costly and was exemplified through the cross. But I have also been reflecting on the the love of God. I heard it said this week – “It was your sin that put Him there but it was His love that kept Him there.” Jesus was not a victim. He willingly laid down His life for us. God the Father gave His son for us.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. // John 3:16
Jesus walked a difficult road to the cross – betrayal, beating, mockery, physical pain, false accusation illegal hearings, and so much more. They lead Him up Golgotha. They nailed Him to a cross. And they crucified Him. In Luke 23, we have a description of the two other crosses along side Jesus with Jesus in the middle. Some thing I have heard shared that has always been impactful to me is The 3 Crosses of Easter:
The cross of rejection.
The cross of reception.
The cross of redemption.
Luke 23 describes this. There is the criminal that mocked Jesus & rejected by Him. There is the criminal that defended Jesus. He believed in & recieved Jesus. Jesus looked at Him and said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” And then there is Jesus. He was crucified, buried, and raised for our redemption – to buy us back. Jesus died for our sins on a Friday and Jesus rose for our redemption & forgiveness on a Sunday. He said “It is finished” and He meant it.
Jesus took our sin.
Jesus took our place.
Jesus paid our price.
Jesus paved our way.
Jesus died for us so that we can live for Him. You can have confidence & you can have clarity with your standing with God because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus… because of Easter.
We have not escaped sin. We still feel the weight of deviating from God’s design for our lives. We still feel the burden of rebelling from God, choosing our own way, and turning from Him. But Easter reminds us that:
There is forgiveness for the repentant.
There is hope in the empty tomb.
And that when Jesus said “It is finished” He meant every word.
We no longer have to earn our way to God. Our way has been earned by Jesus. We don’t have to convince God to want us. He already does. We don’t have to convince God to love us. He has already shown us that He does. We don’t have to convince God to forgive us. He already wants to. We don’t have to impress God. We don’t have to clean up our life. We just have to come willing to lay everything down.
At the end of the day our place in heaven is secure because the man on the middle cross said we could come. Period. End of story. We can be confident in Him and in Him alone.
So, on a scale of 1-10, how confident are you that if you died tonight you would go to be with Jesus? And if you were standing at heaven’s gates, and God asked you why He should let you in, what would you say? Because the only answer is Jesus.
One of my favorite quotes about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus if from Bob Goff. I hope it encourages you too. This is what he said.
“Day turned to night, His friends scattered and death thought it had won. But heaven just started counting to three.” // Bob Goff
This weekend, I pray that you have time to reflect on all that Easter means. I pray that it is not just another Easter but one where you are impacted to your heart. And I pray that this propels you forward in your relationship with Jesus to faithfully pursue Him every day.