There are and have always been many gods in this world. There was only one who died for the sins of the world world, though. And He didn't stay dead; instead, He was resurrecte to live eternally!
There were a few others mentioned in Scripture as being resurrected, but they were only brought back to this life, not to eternal life. There has only ever been one resurrection to eternal life ---
so far. Yet because Jesus was resurrected, we have that same great expectation for eternal life!
Jesus died for us, to pay for our sins.
The Bible records the last words Jesus spoke before His horrendous death on the cross: "It is finished!" (John 19:30) These words were not a
whimper of defeat, they were a cry of victory!
Yes, He was crucified - a cruel and tortuous death- but He didn't stay dead! He was placed in a borrowed tomb, but the stone that was meant to seal the tomb was rolled away! (Luke 24:2) Jesus was
resurrected to eternal life! And He promised us that we can have eternal life also! He said He was going to prepare a place for us, so that we could live eternally with Him in our Heavenly Father's house!
(John 14:2-3) His resurrection changed everything!
What are some of the things that Jesus meant when He said "It is finished"?
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1. The hopelessness of death. We no longer need to fear death. Because of Christ's resurrection, we know we too can have eternal life through Him. Death is not the end of our story, it
only opens the door to eternity for us. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16) Death has no power over us, because Jesus defeated death with His resurrection. Or as the apostle Paul wrote, " O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:55)
The hoplelessness of death is finished!
2. The aimlessness of life. If death were the end of us, what purpose would we have in life? Everything would be aimless, as whatever we work for, whatever we gain, whatever
we cherish, would all end when we die. Someone else will take our place and our belongings. All our efforts would be in vain. Solomon, the wisest king in the world, said this, "Vanity of
vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit has a man of all his labor which he takes under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes:
but the earth abides forever. (Ecclesiastes 1:2-4) However, Jesus makes all things new! With His resurrection, He gives new meaning and purpose to our lives, and our purpose is to
tell others about Jesus and the eternal life He offers! (Matthew 28:19-20) The aimlessness of life is finished!
3. The catastrophic consequence of our sins. We have to admit, we are all sinners. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23) We've all
made some bad choices, done some bad things. And the Bible says the we deserve the death penalty. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) A just God requires payment for sin. But that's what Jesus did when He died on that cross: He paid for our sins, and our debt is marked "Paid in Full."
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, that one great choice erases every bad choice we've ever made, every sin we've ever committed. Look at the thief on the cross beside Jesus. His life was
full of sin and bad choices, and he knew he deserved to die. But He acknowledged Jesus, and made one good choice to believe in Him. "And Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you, Today
you shall be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43) That thief's one good choice wiped out all his bad ones. The catastrophic consequence of sin is finished!
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Because Jesus lives, we have the promise of an eternity in paradise with Him. We no longer have to fear death, it has no power over us. We have a new
purpose in this life, one that will follow us into eternity. We have freedom from the terrible consequence of our own sin. Yes, Jesus Christ's resurrection changes everything! Thank you, Jesus!
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