Sunday 8 April 2012 God had nothing to do with the crucifixion of Jesus. Today is Easter Sunday.

Today we mark the anniversary of the most significant and profound event in all of human history; the resurrection of Christ. Three days ago we marked the anniversary of the most despicable event in all of human history. How is it that we move from the most despicable event to the most significant event in just three days? Both events revolve around the same individual. Three days ago we marked the anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ. Christs death was orchestrated by Satan and man. God did not put his son on the cross. My Bible tells me that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all, (1 Jn 1:5). It also tells me that it was impossible for God to lie (Heb 6:18), and that God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good (Nu 23:19). By these Scriptures we know that God is incapable of doing evil. It is fundamentally against his Character. God is love, (1 Jn 4:8), and love will not deliberately or willfully hurt or wound anyone. Therefore we know that God had nothing to do with putting his son on a cross and murdering him. This was an act carried out by man and Satan. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (Jn 3:19-20). Men hated Jesus and this hatred led them to murder him. Why is the crucifixion of Christ so despicable? Simply because Jesus the light of the world (Jn 9:5) came into a world full of darkness as the perfect sinless lamb of God and evil men under the inspiration of Satan condemned not just an innocent man, but a sinless perfect man. There have been many times throughout history when innocent people have been condemned and killed, but only once has a person who was completely sinless and perfect condemned and killed. Jesus was not killed because of any misleading evidence or unfortunate associations. Indeed it was impossible to find any evidence against him. Only when he spoke the truth about himself did the high priest condemn him and commence the process that led to his murder. This is what makes the crucifixion of Christ the most despicable event in all of human history. Before the Creation of man God knew that he had to put a plan in place to redeem man unto himself. He knew that man would fall. He also knew what the cost would be to redeem man. Does this mean that God was complicit in the death of his son? Absolutely not! Look at it this way. You become aware of a plot by a gang of thieves to steal computers from a local school so you call the police and the school headmaster and notify them of the plot. The police and headmaster however ignore you and the school gets robbed. Are you then complicit in the robbery? Knowing about something does not make you complicit. God knew what man would do. He not only knew, he warned the Pharisees and the Jewish people over and over again through the prophets. God foretold the death of his son over and over again, but his warnings were ignored.

As a God of love, even knowing what man would do to his son and knowing that his warnings would go unheeded, God still sent his son into the world to redeem his sons murderers. Without this redemption all of mankind would be destined to an eternity in hell. This is something that God was not prepared to permit. He wanted to make a way of escape. The only way was to allow his son to take on himself the sin of the world. Christ went to the cross as the sinless and perfect Lamb of God. He carried in his body all of our sin, guilt, shame, sickness and disease. He became sin. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, (2 Cor 5:21). God knew that at this point he would have to reject his own son And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? From eternity past, long before the creation of the universe, Father, Son, and Spirit existed in unbroken harmony as a perfect unity; Three who were in every essential One. Throughout Jesus life on earth He and the Father had maintained that perfect unity. But on Calvary something both awful and wonderful happened. As Jesus hung on the cross all the sins of humankind were laid on Him. And in that moment when Jesus became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21), the very fabric of the Godhead was torn apart and Jesus experienced a separation from God which is the essence of hell. Jesus cry of anguish captured the moment the Son was forsaken by the Father; the moment when Jesus paid for our sins, experiencing spiritual death in our place and as our substitute. 1

If the crucifixion is so despicable, then why is the resurrection so significant? Firstly, it is God that raised Jesus from the dead, (Ro 8:11). Satan and man killed Jesus, but God raised him from the dead. God raised Jesus from both physical and spiritual death. Secondly, the resurrection marks Christs triumph over the law of sin and death, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death, (Ro 8:2). It marks his triumph over death itself. Christ conquered death. He took upon himself our nature so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of deaththat is, the devil (Heb. 2:14). The extent of Christs victory over death is indicated by his resurrection. Since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him (Rom. 6:9). 2 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Col 2:15) The law of sin and death simply stated says that if you sin you will die both physically and spiritually. Physical death is obvious. Spiritual death is to be subject to eternal separation from God. We have all sinned so without Christs atoning death we would all be subject to death. The place of eternal separation from God is called hell. Lets think about hell for a moment and consider what we have been saved from. The essence of hell is separation from God. Hell was made for Satan and his angels, not for man, Mt 25:41. If heaven is a
1

Richards, L., Pegoda, D., & Gross, P. (2001). Every teaching of Jesus in the Bible (259). Nashville: T. Nelson. Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.) (267). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

place full of the presence and character of God, then hell is a place devoid of the attributes of God. Contrast light with darkness, love with hate, strength with weakness, peace with torment, fellowship with isolation, you get the picture. Hell is not a place you want to be. There is no fun in hell. Christ overcame the power of Death and Hell. Death and Hell are evil spirits. We know this because the Bible says, And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:14). These are the principalities and powers that he spoiled and made an open show of. He made an open show of them when he rose from the dead. He demonstrated that death could not hold him down, that hell had no hold on him. And now he makes a public spectacle of death and hell through us. Our physical bodies will die because of sin, And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness, (Ro 8:10), but our spirits live and are destined for heaven rather than hell. Not only that, But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you, (Ro 8:11). God gives us the promise that just as he raised Jesus from the dead and quickened (that is made alive) his mortal body, he will also make alive our mortal bodies by his Spirit that lives in us. The resurrection is significant because through it the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, (Ro 8:11). Note: The Spirit that lives in us is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. In Ephesians 1:19-20, Paul describes the power that was manifest by the Holy Spirit when he raised Christ from the dead as, the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead. We have an exceedingly great power dwelling in us. This exceeding great power raised Jesus from the dead and quickened his mortal body. This same exceeding great power that dwells in us also quickens our mortal bodies. So the resurrection is significant because: God did it. It delivers us from the law of sin and death which is death and hell. Through it the Holy Spirit indwells us and quickens our mortal bodies.

Grace and Peace to you Peter Walkemeyer