By Don Davis
For the Kannapolis Citizen
This year our church Easter musical cantata contains Bill Gaither’s classic, “It is Finished.”
As some have said, if this song does not set you on fire, your wood is wet. As I think of the words, “It is finished the battle is over, it is finished there will be no more wars. It is finished the end of the conflict. It is finished and Jesus is Lord.”
If we really love our Lord we must sense a feeling of victory when these words are sung. For when Jesus said, “It is finished,” we know Jesus had completed His mission on earth and the first step of redemption was done.
We can thank God that on Good Friday when Jesus breathed His last breath, it was finished but not complete. If Jesus had died on the cross and was buried in a tomb and stayed there we would have no hope. The story would have ended at the tomb, and we would have had a dead savior rather than one who would arise from the dead. The old hymn, “Low in the Grave He Lay” spells out what really happened. “Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph over His foes. He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose, He arose, Hallelujah, Christ arose.”
On Good Friday, we should be saddened by the punishment Jesus took prior to His crucifixion and the awful suffering He endured on the cross, but we should also recall why He died.
The Bible says, “He could have called ten thousand angels to come to earth and set Him free.” However, Jesus stayed and took the punishment because while He was on the cross He saw our need. Our Savior knew there was no way we could get to heaven unless He paid the price for our sins. We can be thankful He did not back down from His mission.
At the same time, this Easter Sunday should be the most precious of your life. We should not fail to thank the heavenly Father for letting His son die for us and having Him raised from the dead. Tears should come to our eyes when we consider the sinless, perfect Son of God went to an old rugged cross and stayed in the tomb until it was complete on Sunday morning. God knew there was no other way we could be free from our sins.
Have you ever accepted Jesus as your Savior? Easter would be an ideal time to come to know Him as Lord and Savior and to know He died for you. We should be singing the song the Apostle Peter must have been singing when Jesus appeared in the Upper Room.
“He’s Alive, He’s Alive, He’s Alive, and I am forgiven. Heaven’s gates are open wide. Hallelujah what a Savior!”
Don Davis is a local pastor and writes a religion column for the Kannapolis Citizen.