“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
“But they kept shouting, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’” – Luke 23:21
This month is a very exciting month in terms of holiday celebrations. We get to celebrate God’s triumph over death for all of mankind. WOOHOO! If you’re not prepared in your mind and heart to get a little wild, you should! As we enter this time and reflect on Jesus incredible display of passion for us, it’s also good for us to think about how we can imitate him in our lives and in turn bring him glory.
Recently, I was moved by a passage from Oswald Chambers which read, “Have you made the following decision about sin – that it must be completely killed in you? … It is the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you – not simply restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified – just as Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world.”
The interesting thing about all of this is that it’s impossible to crucify ourselves without the help of another. Think about it. If I nail one hand of sin to the cross, I cannot get the other hand in unless I get someone’s help. In order for us to completely take care of sin in our lives, we must get the help of the Holy Spirit. He must bring revelation. We must let him search our hearts, expose areas of darkness, and let Him crucify the sin through the power of his love.
Go back with me to the moment Pilate presented Jesus – bloodied, bruised and beaten – to the crowd of people awaiting him. What was their awful response to Pilate when he asked what should be done with Jesus? They shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Now, with that scene in mind, bring in 2 Corinthians 5:21. This verse tells us that Jesus became sin.
Do you see it? In that moment they were shouting to crucify Jesus, but in doing so they were also shouting at the man who became sin.
God used that horribly grotesque moment, in which evil men were calling for God’s Son to be crucified, as a prophetic call for saints to cast judgment on their own sin for thousands of years into the future. God completely turns the whole thing upside down. He now extends to us the offer to partner with the Holy Spirit and passionately cry out to our sin, “Crucify! Crucify! Crucify!”
Happy Resurrection Sunday everyone!
God Bless,
Brice Tabor
