Victory Day Forty: Cross Action

[Jesus] canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities.

He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

Col. 2:14-15, NLT

Whenever you see paintings and sculptures of Jesus on the cross, He appears to be passively hanging there at the mercy of the Roman soldiers, waiting for death. It looks like He’s done for; evil has had its way. He is the epitome of the sacrificial Lamb.

Much of the time, I think we picture ourselves the same way. Our sinful tendencies have us nailed to a cross and we feel helpless to escape them. We try to encourage each other to “hang in there,” but it’s not much of a consolation.

Yet these verses reveal that Jesus was not just the Lamb of sacrifice, but also the Lion of Judah. He was totally in control over the events of that day, actively defeating sin’s power over us for all time. Just look at the action-packed phrases in this passage, He:

·         Cancelled the record of Satan’s charges against mankind

·         Took away any sign of our guilt by nailing it to the cross

·         Disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities

·         Publicly shamed them with His victory over the power of evil

That’s great news for us. When we choose to accept Jesus’ offer of forgiveness, we don’t just “hang in there” until we die, like wimpy victims of the demon hoard. When we died to sin, that choice set certain things in motion. If we have crucified our sin nature with Christ, then we also get to join in the victory He won there for us. The charges against us have been wiped out and Satan has no power over us anymore.

Jesus’ work on the cross provides us with a life of action, empowering us to live not as victims, but as victors.