He's Alive

Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit." When He had said this, He breathed His last. 

Luke 23:46

Imagine with me, just for a moment, a place of pure beauty; a place where the light is brilliant, the colors magnificent. The great street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass (Revelation 21:21). There will be robes of white and gates of pearl. There will be no more night, no more tears, no more worries, no more pain, no more suffering, no death or mourning. Instead, there will be praise - praise to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Praise to the one who came to earth to live and die on a cross to give us this eternal life in this wonderful place called Heaven. Doesn't it sound wonderful? And I know that we cannot truly fathom what Heaven is really like...we can only imagine. It will be more than we can comprehend. But what I've thought about so much this week, this Easter, is what it took for us to be given a place such as this to spend eternity. What did it cost? It cost us nothing. It cost Jesus everything. What sacrifices were made? We made none. Jesus gave it all.

See, Jesus was the only perfect man to walk this earth. He came to show us He was and is Christ, the Messiah, our Savior. He showed His love and His power to all, telling them what was to come. Oh, to be there then - what was it like? What was it like to watch Him feed thousands or make the blind to see? What was it like to see Him raise the dead? What was it like to touch the hem of His garment? To hear Him speak, to see Him perform these miracles, to watch Him give grace and show His love and speak of His death, burial and resurrection...what was it like? I wonder what they thought when He spoke of these things. He was perfect; unlike us, He was without sin, yet He was condemned to die. 

Luke 24:20 says, "The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him." (NIV) Now before they crucified Him, the Bible tells us in Matthew 27:28-30, "And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews'. Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head." (NKJV) They spit on our Savior, our Jesus, the One who came to save us and offer us this place I spoke of earlier called Heaven. They beat Him and hurt Him as much as they could. Not only did they hurt Him physically, they mocked Him and laughed in His face. What strikes me so much in these verses is that it says, "And they bowed the knee before Him". The Bible tells us in Romans 14:11, "For it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God." (NKJV) Yet here they are bowing before Him not to worship Him or confess to God, but to mock Him. After the beatings and the mocking and the humiliation they put Jesus through, they led Him to a place called Golgotha. It was there they drove the nails in His hands and feet and hung Him on the cross to suffer and bleed and die an excruciating death. Even as He hung on the cross, Matthew 27:37 says, "And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS." (NKJV) They mocked Him even as He died. And you know what? He was dying for them, for you and for me. This perfect Lamb of God, hanging on a cross, dying, to take our sin for us so we wouldn't have to. What a sacrifice! We gave nothing. Jesus gave it all.

Jesus died that day on the cross. Oh, they watched and waited and shouted for Him to save Himself. Matthew 27:42 says, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him." (NKJV) He could have saved Himself. If He had chosen, He could have come down from that cross. But He chose not to. He didn't even drink the gall that was offered to Him to lessen the pain. He took on the full pain and force of all of our sins upon Himself. He died to give us life. 

But this is not where Jesus stops. The story doesn't end here, with His death. Matthew 28 tells us the story. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. But there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord came from Heaven and rolled the stone away from the tomb! Yes, the stone was rolled away and Jesus was not inside. The angel's countenance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The angel told the women to not be afraid and that Jesus was not there. Jesus is Risen, just like He told them! The angel told the women to go tell the disciples that He is risen from the dead, that He was in Galilee and that they could see Him there. Now, we weren't there when the stone was rolled away, but can you imagine it? If we really stop and think about the deep sadness we would be feeling for having just lost Jesus, only to realize that He's risen, we get a glimpse of the emotion running through their hearts. The Bible says they had fear and great joy. But Jesus told them not to be afraid. They came and worshiped Him and He ascended into Heaven. He told them that day, and it is written for us today, "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age". Matthew 28:20 (NKJV) 

So this story is what's been pondering in my heart all week, especially today, Good Friday - the story that Jesus died on a cross that should have been mine. But He came with a purpose, to die for us and take on all our sin and then Rise up and defeat death. I do a lot of worshiping through song, and today I was going through some music and wanted to specifically hear the song, Arise, My Love. My favorite part of this song is when it says, "Then the Father looked down to His Son and He said, Arise my Love, Arise my Love, the grave no longer has its hold on You". Can you picture it with me? I can see God, the Father, looking down upon His Son, dead in a grave after so much suffering, reaching out His arms saying "Arise, my Love". Wow! That gives me chills. The Son went home to Heaven to be with the Father. I don't know if this happened, but when God, the Father says "Arise, my Love", I can picture Jesus falling into the arms of God. After having suffered and died and completing the task laid out before Him on this earth, it was over. He conquered death and the grave!

Today, I also listened to the song, He's Alive. I love a song that tells a great story, and this one does just that. It tells the resurrection story of Jesus from Peter's point of view. My favorite part of the song is when Peter is feeling ashamed and broken, and suddenly there is a sweet and strange perfume, and a light that comes from everywhere. As Peter looks up, Jesus is standing before him with His arms open wide. Peter fell to his knees, clung to Him and cried. Oh to have been there...to have been Peter. To feel such anguish and sorrow over His death, such shame for denying Him, then suddenly Jesus is standing before Him reaching out for Him, drawing him near. The song goes on to say that Jesus raises Peter up and the love from Jesus is shining through His eyes. The guilt Peter felt suddenly melted into peace. He was alive!! The grave could not hold the King!

To have been there, to actually see Jesus raised from the dead, I can only imagine. Just the thought makes my heart sing and makes me want to shout! Jesus died for us... horrifically, painfully died, but it didn't end with His death. He arose from the grave and is in Heaven preparing a place for us forever, for eternity. 

There is no one that could love us this much. What Jesus did for us is more than anyone will ever do. The Bible tells us He knew us before we were born, but when we get to Heaven, we will fall at His feet and worship Him. He will welcome us by name when we get to Heaven because He died specifically for each of us. We'll get to see Him and thank Him and praise Him for His sacrifice. The soldiers that bowed a knee and mocked Him, they bowed again, but not to mock, but to call Him Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Hallelujah! 

Will you spend eternity in this wonderful place called Heaven, with a Savior who went to these great lengths to make sure you could? Do you know Jesus as your Savior and Lord? Have you asked Him to forgive your sins? Have you thanked Him for His sacrifice? If not, do it today. Ask Him so that you can have the assurance of an eternity in Heaven.  

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, to save a wretch like me. He saved me. I adore Him and I love Him more than I can put into words. His sacrifice for me makes me so humble and grateful. I want to tell the world of His love. 

So, arise, my love, and worship Him. I thank Him, today, for what He did for me and for you. Everything He did for us was, and is, all we'll ever need. He is with us today, just as He was with the people when He walked this earth. He's my everything, and today I celebrate His ultimate gift. He's given us everything under the Son!

"But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him." Acts 2:24

Happy Easter!

I love you all,

Kacey