The Cancellation of the Cross – Sounds of Victory
When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. (Colossians 2:15 NASB)
Do you hear it – the echo of the ringing of metal against metal and the muffled thud of the nails going into the wood of the cross? What a horrible sound. What a discouraging sound since it’s happening to the one you’re supposed to follow as your winning Savior. Do you hear the jeers – the jeers of the people walking by and stopping in front of the cross to vocalize their disdain for the middle cross’ occupant?
Did you hear the cheers – the cheers of the masses as He rode into Jerusalem just five days earlier? Even though they had mistaken the nature of His kingship, still they welcomed Him and cheered Him on (Zechariah 9:9-10, Matthew 21:6-11.)
Shortest reign ever to occur. The long awaited king lasted about five days, not even enough time to set up office and establish His kingdom. To have your Messiah beaten by your foe and nailed to a cross is far worse than your or my favored sports team losing scoreless in the championship game. At least that’s how it appeared to the eye of unbelief.
We’re reminded today that both scenes, the ride into Jerusalem that we know as Palm Sunday and the Cross of Good Friday are events of victory. His entry into Jerusalem with jubilant fanfare by the crowds was truly a victory. Jesus came in in spite of Roman rule and against the grain of the Jewish religious hierarchy. The crowds ate it up. He was here – their king. Their misunderstanding of this king would lead to a lot of disappointment and disbelief because of what would happen five days later.
To the eye darkened in sin, Jesus was the loser on the cross. Nothing could be further from the truth. God defeated every wicked foe with His Son nailed to the cross. There was nothing they could do. They had played with the master chess player and lost horribly. The cross of Jesus Christ was the great display of God Himself defeating evil.
As He hung there naked, Jesus wasn’t the spectacle. No, the real exposure was of the rulers and authorities of evil. God “undressed” them on the cross. They were exposed and defeated. Our human eye can’t see this either, but it happened and we each live our life in the victory of this event. This is the courage that the church goes out into the lost world and does its work of the Gospel. Jesus won. The victory is ours. The battle with the spiritual darkness has been fought and won.
As awful as it sounded and as painful as it was, the sound of the nails hammered into His body was the sound of victory.
Oh victory in Jesus, my Savior for ever. He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him, He plunged me in victory beneath the cleansing flood.
Victory in Jesus by Eugene M. Bartlett
