| What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? |
| God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? |
| Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? |
| Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. |
| For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: |
| Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. |
| For he that is dead is freed from sin. |
| Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: |
| Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. |
| For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. |
| Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. |
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Imagine that Jesus has just been brought into the room with the Jewish leaders. He’s just been arrested, you hear the false witnesses as they testify against Him. You know in your heart that they are lying, but you see that He isn’t saying anything. You wonder why, but you are silent. You see the blows as the soldiers mock Him. You see them spit on him. You see them ripping His beard out of His face. You want to stop it, but you are silent.
Imagine that you see Him taken to Pilate. You hear Pilate questioning Jesus. You know, as Pilate knows, that He is an innocent man. You know that it’s all been trumped up, and you don’t know why. You see Pilate send Jesus to Herod.
Imagine that you hear as Herod is also questioning Jesus. You see Jesus being silent. You wonder why. You see Herod’s frustration. Finally, you watch Herod have Jesus beaten. You see the whip with its multiple tails. Each tail has little pieces of metal or bone so that it rips the flesh open as it is jerked back. You see Jesus’ back horribly torn and bleeding. In all this He says nothing. You don’t understand at all, but you stay silent.
Imagine that you are standing in the crowd as Jesus is standing with Pilate. Jesus has a crown with 2 inch thorns pressed so hard onto His head that the thorns are imbedded under His skin. You wonder how He can still be alive.
You hear Pilate ask, “What shall I do with Jesus?” Caught up in the moment, feeling the emotions of the crowd, you can’t stop your lips as they scream along with the rest of the people, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” You don’t want to say those words! He doesn’t deserve to die. But, you can’t stop yourself as the overwhelming anger fills the air. “Crucify Him!” you yell again, and again.
Finally, you watch as the soldiers take Jesus and tie him to the cross beam of the cross o which He is going to be crucified. You walk with the rest of the crowd as the soldiers and Jesus make their way down the winding road out of Jerusalem and to Calvary. You see Jesus stumble and fall under the weight, again and again. He’s weak from the beatings and loss of blood. He’s tired from being up so long. He’s on His way to die, and you wonder how He’s even able to walk this far. You see the soldiers grab another man to help carry the load.
Imagine that you arrive at Mount Golgotha. You see two other men hanging on crosses. Their crimes are above their heads. You see that they’re thieves. You know that they deserve the penalty for their crimes. You see the soldiers pound the nails into Jesus’ hands and his feet. You actually begin to feel His pain. You wish this didn’t have to be happening, but you know it does, and it is.
Imagine you hear the crowd shouting and making fun of Him. You see the soldiers gambling for His garment. You are there. You see His mother, Mary Magdalene, and John standing close to the cross, weeping. You move closer to them. You hear as Jesus asks John to take care of His mother. You see John answer, “Yes”.
You see Jesus writhe in pain, you see Him look around. You hear Him tell the thief that He would take him to Paradise. You hear Him say, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
Suddenly, you are startled as the sky turns blacker than night. It’s noon! How can this be?
There were no clouds. It’s as if the sun suddenly turned off.
Then, you experience something very strange. You feel yourself crawl onto the cross with Jesus. You feel yourself hanging there with Him. All of your thoughtless words, all of your selfish actions, every thought that was wrong is hanging there with you. You KNOW why the sky is dark. God, who is perfect and holy, cannot look on sin, cannot be in the presence of sin, and sin is what is on the cross.
Suddenly you know why Jesus is there. He became sin for us, so that He could bring us to the Father. He suffered separation from God so that we don’t have to. For three hours, you are there. You are so sorry for each action, word and thought that you did without thinking about it. You feel the pain that it is causing Him, and you know that your actions are what caused God to turn His back on His beloved Son. You wish you could take it all back. But you can’t. As sure as He is there, they are there, too.
Suddenly, you hear Jesus cry out, “My God, My God, why have You left me?” It is so painful to hear Him say that. Your heart breaks, and yet, you hang there with Him. You feel the loneliness of God’s turning away. You feel the anguish as Christ pays for your sin.
Then, with His last breath, Jesus cried out, “Father into Your hands I give my Spirit”. In that instance, He died. You feel your spirit leave with His. You see His body there. You see the soldiers take it off the cross and lay it in the tomb.
You are with Jesus as He preaches to the ones in Sheol. You see Him take the believers to Heaven. You see Him come alive again in His own body. You see Him talk with Mary. You see Him as He walks on the earth for 40 days. You see Him taken back to Heaven.
You understand now that everything that happened had to happen. The penalty for sin is separation from God, and Christ had to pay that penalty in order for all the sin of all mankind from the beginning of time to be forgiven. He had to pay the penalty for your sin because He wants to have a forever relationship with you.
You know that what the Bible says is true, you really are crucified with Christ. You really are a new creation. As your spirit is alive with Christ, you know that all of your sin is left on the cross because you died there, too. Without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin, and when He died, sin died, too covered with His blood, forever forgiven. You are alive again, in Him. You are released from the bondage of sin, and you know it because you were there.
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Lord, what a beautiful truth. When You were on the Cross, we were there with You. When you were buried, we were with You. When You rose again, we rose with You. All of our sin was left on the Cross, covered with Your blood, forgiven forever. Jesus, please forgive us for all of the times that we forget it. Forgive us for neglecting to sped time with You. You DIED to give me LIFE. Oh, let me never forget that. My sin, like a snake twitching without a head, is dead, dead, dead. Oh thank You for releasing me from bondage. I pray for anyone reading this, I pray that he or she will grasp this truth....You died to give us eternal life....and that is abundant life to live right now. In Jesus' most precious name I pray, AMEN
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