Victory in Jesus

In John 19:30, John records Jesus’ final words from the cross. In the original Greek, it is one powerful word: tetelestai. In our English Bibles, it is translated into three words: “It is finished.” According to Strong’s Greek Concordance, tetelestai comes from the root word teleō, which carries three meanings: “to end or finish,” “to fulfill or accomplish,” and “to pay.” These meanings reveal the fullness of what Jesus proclaimed from the cross. The work the Father had given Him was finished, the prophecies concerning the Messiah were fulfilled, and the debt of sin was fully paid.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth and became the Son of Man to pay the sin debt that humanity had incurred but could never pay. In every aspect of His life and His death, He fulfilled God’s battle plan in order to redeem and free humanity from the curse of sin. From the very beginning, God has been the one fighting the battles for the benefit His people (Deut 20:4 “For the Lord your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”). On the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the sins of humanity along with the wrath of God those sins deserved. In those agonizing moments, He ended the need for the sacrificial system, satisfying it once and for all (Hebrews 10:10-14).

But the cross was not the end.

From the moment Eve and Adam gave in to their desire to be like God, death entered the world. Romans 5:12 tells us: "Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned." Paul reminds us that no human will escape death.

But Jesus defeated the finality of death, just as He said He would.

“Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Matthew 28:1-10

Light had defeated darkness. (John1:5) The door had been opened. (John 10:19) Love had won and peace with God was now a possibility. (Romans 5:1)

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “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. 1Cor 15:54-56

But we have a choice to make.

In the book of Numbers, there is a story that foreshadows the salvific work of Jesus being raised up on a cross.

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of srael died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” Numbers 21:4-9

God always provides a choice and a way. The people were dying due to the consequences of their sins. Yet, God established a means of escaping death and finding life but the remedy required obedience and trust. The person could have chosen to dismiss the remedy as a foolish means of healing and not looked up to the serpent on the pole. Even better, the person writhing in pain and fearing death could merely cast their eyes upward and be healed.

The everlasting, ever-present, sacrificial love of God sent His son to die upon a cross so that humanity could be redeemed from their sin and be reconciled to Him. (1Cor 1:30) However, in order to receive the gift of life and escape the bondage of sin and death, we must look to Christ. We must acknowledge our need for His salvation from the curse of sin’s death. But repentance isn’t just turning away for sin, it is also the turning towards God. The resurrection secured that path for us.

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 1Cor 15:20-22

Jesus Christ fought and won the battle we could not fight, in order to vanquish the curse we could not escape. Through His life, death and resurrection, a way made so that all who believe in Him can receive a new life.

There is a wonderful old hymn called Victory in Jesus which has been playing in my head for weeks as I prepared to write this blog post. I encourage you to find a version of the song and listen to words. I will share verse 3 and the chorus here as it captures the eternal future available to all who chose Christ.

Verse 3

I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory, And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea;

About the angels singing and the old redemption story,

And some sweet day I'll sing up there the song of victory.

Chorus

O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever!

He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood;

He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him.

He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood