Due to an unhappy confluence of artistic fantasies perpetrated by various Middle Ages and Renaissance sculptors and painters, European church decorators and fanciful Hollywood movie makers, we have inherited an image of a Jesus Christ who never existed.

He has often been portrayed either as a helpless baby in the arms of His larger-than-life mother, or as a milquetoast itinerate preacher, or as a hapless do-good martyr who got caught up in the religious and political machinery of His day.

So, was He really just a victim of circumstances beyond His knowledge and control? Could there be more to the story?

His enemies had Him down as just another in an extensive line of deluded imposters, and they expected that the “myth” of Jesus of Nazareth would be discarded on the rubbish heap of history and forgotten forever.

Perfect. That is exactly how God planned it all along!

Surprise!

Fact is, all along Jesus was on a cosmic rescue mission, planned before the foundation of the earth, which required complete secrecy until it was finally executed.

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 2:7-8, described why Christ’s plan could only be known by God Himself:

“… we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory …”

Christ’s human and angelic enemies had no way of knowing that by putting Him to death, they were sowing the seeds of their own destruction.

Christ’s death on the cross looked like a defeat, when in fact it was a stupendous victory. 

Evangelist Oswald Chambers wrote in “The Collision of God and Sin,” “The Cross of Jesus is the revelation of God’s judgment on sin. Never tolerate the idea of martyrdom about the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Cross was a superb triumph in which the foundations of hell were shaken. There is nothing more certain in Time or Eternity than what Jesus Christ did on the Cross: He switched the whole of the human race back into a right relationship with God. He made Redemption the basis of human life, that is, He made a way for every son of man to get into communion with God.”

In a single earth-day that we call Good Friday, Jesus Christ single-handedly squared accounts with God, Mankind, Heaven, Earth, Hell and the Devil.

He put away sin, brought the evil serpent to his knees, took control of the keys of Hell, met all claims of righteousness, abolished the power of death, re-established righteous authority over the earth, cleansed redeemed man’s conscience, and made a way for any willing person to have communion with His God.

Whew! How did He do it?

1 Peter 2:24-25 teaches:

“… and He Himself brought (Lit “offered up”) our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”

And note, Jesus was suffering for our sins, not His own — He had none. But it cost Him dearly.

In a 2022 commentary, I wrote, “The Bible explains that after Jesus died 2,000 years ago, He had to pass through a terrifying and hostile dark valley that, just for a moment, seemed to swallow Him up permanently. With eternal stakes on the line, he went to war, alone, with the assembled forces of evil under the headship of the ‘Darth Vader’ of hellfire and damnation.”

“Three days later, He emerged scarred but victorious. And, the Bible says He will return to Earth soon, accompanied by a heavenly army to take his followers home, and take His rightful place as earth’s Ruler, as He is in Heaven …

“Alexander the Great once said, “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”

How About You?

Some 700 years before Christ’s birth, the prophet Isaiah wrote: 

“However, it was OUR sicknesses that He Himself bore,
And OUR pains that He carried;
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by God, and humiliated.
But He was pierced for OUR offenses,
He was crushed for OUR wrongdoings;
The punishment for OUR well-being was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds WE are healed.
All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of US ALL
To fall on Him.”

If He Jesus was willing to do this (the hard “bit”) for you, Don’t you think it’s only reasonable for you to believe it (the easy “bit”) with all your heart?