The Standard April 19, 2025
“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19: 28-30
As Christ hung on the cross and spoke his last words, he knew that his work on earth was done. Scripture had been fulfilled, and his resurrection would secure forgiveness and redemption for all who would believe.
For Mary, the other women at the cross, and the disciples, the acute pain of watching Jesus die was all too real. How could their kind, caring Lord have been subject to such a brutal death? They did not then understand exactly what would happen on Easter morning. The empty tomb was not something they fully anticipated.
Soon, they would replay the words of Christ and come to understand what he had been saying to them all along. Their grief would turn to joy, at what God had accomplished for them. The perfect sacrifice, once for all, would change the world. Life never would be the same.
“‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15: 54b-56
In the mid 1800s, Phillips Brooks wrote a hymn which says, “Tomb, thou shalt not hold him longer; Death is strong, but life is stronger, Stronger than the dark, the light; Stronger than the wrong, the right. Faith and hope triumphant say, ‘Christ will rise on Easter Day.’”
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
celiastone 