Daily Word
A word of encouragement for your day.
THE GREATEST CRIME IN HISTORY
"They band themselves together against the soul of the Righteous and condemn innocent blood." (Psalm 94:21) The Crucifixion of Christ is the greatest crime ever committed in the history of mankind! Totally innocent Blood was condemned and the Only Righteous One who ever walked this earth was falsely judged and put to death. By this criminal act all of humanity sealed its doom, for we were all partakers in what was committed that tragic day – it was my wicked sin and rebellion that condemned Him to death, I was part of the crowd that shouted "crucify him!"
The enormous tragedy of the Cross is not only the unfathomable anguish and painful suffering of Christ when He was made a sin-offering for us.
To a much greater degree the tragedy of the Cross is the uncovering of the abysmal, demonic hatred and rejection that we humans in our total blindness and senseless rage poured out over Him who created us and has loved us with an everlasting love.
The Cross exposes the awful reality of sin: we have rejected the Holy and Righteous One and put to
death the Prince of Life, and by doing so all of us have drawn the sentence of death and eternal destruction over ourselves.
But it is precisely through the judgement of condemnation that the judgement of justification can be realized: He who allows Himself to be erased there on the Cross, is the end to the old humanity ("the old man"), and by His resurrection the beginning of a new.
And so, the Blood of Christ delivers a twofold testimony: the sentence of death and condemnation over all of fallen humanity and the proclamation of justification and salvation for all men.
The old man must be fully judged and put away before the new can come. Salvation is the creation of a completely new man in Christ, "which in the likeness of God has been created in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph.4:24)
And so, the greatest crime in history was turned into the biggest triumph ever!