Contemplating Easter

I am not good, but Christ is. I am not enough, but Jesus is. contemplating easter

And thank God for that!

How wonderful that there is truly nothing that I can do to add or detract from my salvation! How wonderful that I cannot be expected to pull myself from the miry clay on my own (Ps. 40:2), but that Jesus, my Saviour, is alone able to draw me to Him! What glorious rest I have, knowing that Almighty God truly is all-powerful, all-sovereign, and all-saving!

The wondrous mystery of salvation is too much for the human mind to comprehend, but it is enough to know and understand that I would not have my authentic choice to repent but for the sovereign grace of election through Christ. I could not come to Him on my own; if left to my own devices, there is no doubt that I would only be able to wallow in my miseries.

But God. 

But God, so great and generous with His lavish grace, loved me first (1 John 4:19). He loved me first, and that is why I can now love and serve Him now. 

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together in Christ—by grace you have been saved…

Ephesians 2:4

Yes, if left alone, this fallen nature would be loth to attempt saving itself. This sinful creature would not be able to hold onto self-determinism to best its way into eternal life. And if it could, that would only collapse into boasting, competition, and so much pride. But thanks be to God, this is not so! In His glorious grace, according to the mystery of His will (Eph. 1: 5, 9), He has saved me, and all I must do is answer that call and give Him my life, understanding that there is naught that I can do which will add or detract from my salvation—the salvation that He won for me on the cross. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8

No work can save me; only Jesus can, only Jesus did. How wonderful that truly is when you stop to ponder it!

And save me, He did. He paid the price, taking the nails and the piercing of His side, and my Jesus laid down His precious, pure, and spotless life for me. 

No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like the scene on Calvary.

Charles Spurgeon

He laid His life down of His own accord, suffered not only the brutalities of being whipped Roman-style, wherein chunks of His flesh were torn out, all the way down to the bone and the muscle; not only the obscenities of being crucified to a cross, gasping for breath, having to push up on His legs for a gulp of oxygen; not only all of that, but He bore shame. 

Shame beyond words. He became a curse (Gal. 5:13)—in a mystery of mysteries, Jesus became sin, He who knew no sin (2 Cor. 5:21). The spotless Lamb of God became the ultimate sacrifice for the salvation of those whom He created, yet He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53).

And when the greatest work of human history was complete, Christ said “It is finished,” and He chose the moment of His death. He pardoned and sanctified me. 

Then, His body was laid in the tomb. Darkness had descended upon the earth, and all was silent. 

But God. contemplating easter

This Jesus, this Christ, this Saviour of souls, Captain of our Salvation (Heb. 2:10), had not only the power to lay down His life when He chose, but He had the authority to reclaim His life once again. 

For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.

John 10:17-18

On the third day, Jesus rose again. In doing so, He demonstrated His ultimate and sovereign power over all things, even the cessation of life itself. As Lewis said so beautifully, “when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead… Death itself would start working backwards.” 

I am that traitor, and I have committed treachery. But Christ was unblemished, unsullied, and blameless before the Father. His sacrifice redeems me. Oh, what manner of love is this…

In the empty tomb of Christ, we see sin forever put away and death destroyed.

Charles Spurgeon

The Saviour lives, and the debt has been paid in full. Christ reigns supreme over death! 

Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen.

Luke 24:5-6

Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! Oh, sing hallelujah! contemplating easter