He Did it For You

1 Peter 3:18 Christ himself suffered when he died for you, and with that one death he paid for your sins. He was not guilty, but he died for all who are guilty. He did this to bring all of you to God. In his physical form he was killed, but he was made alive by the Spirit.

Well, here we are … that day we call “Good Friday”, remembering the terrible, the unthinkable, that took place so that for you and me the equally wondrous and unthinkable could take place.

If you’ve been able to join me in the days leading up to this Good Friday, you’ll know that we’ve been focussing on our own inadequacies, our sin, our consistent capacity to rebel against God and to fail this Jesus who gave His utmost, His everything, for us.

That all sounds pretty depressing, don’t you think? That’s because it is. It’s terrible! The inky darkness of the evil that rises up from within us, the stench of our sin in the nostrils of God is so terrible that it required a terrible solution.

1 Peter 3:18 Christ himself suffered when he died for you, and with that one death he paid for your sins. He was not guilty, but he died for all who are guilty. He did this to bring all of you to God. In his physical form he was killed, but he was made alive by the Spirit.

The One who owed nothing died an excruciating death in order to repay a debt that we could never afford to pay. The injustice of that is completely and utterly breathtaking – so great is the love of God for you and for me. Jesus wasn’t guilty, but he died for all who are.

And though He hung there lifeless on that Cross, the Spirit of God was at work. As your sin and mine was crucified with Him, God was ready to do something new – to make us alive again in the Spirit. That’s Easter.

And that’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.