Reading: The Cross of Christ, pg. 38-45
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2.24
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 1 Corinthians 15.3-5
At its simplest their message was: ‘you killed him, God raised him, and we are witnesses’. In other words, the resurrection was the divine reversal of the human verdict. But it was more than this. By the resurrection God ‘glorified’ and ‘exalted’ the Jesus who had died. Promoting him to the place of supreme honour at his right hand, in fulfilment of Psalm 110.1 and on account of the achievement of his death, God made the crucified and risen Jesus ‘both Lord and Christ’, both ‘Prince and Saviour’, with authority to save sinners by bestowing upon them repentance, forgiveness and the gift of the Spirit. | Stott, pg. 40
The Apostles carried the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus as their primary message. When you look at your life, what is the primary message you are telling the world?
Lord, in this world we have more distractions than ever. The world and our flesh constantly cause our focus to stray from You. Help me, by the work of Your Holy Spirit to live a life pointed to the cross of Jesus. Amen.