“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know — Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it” (Acts 2:22-24 NKJV).
God does not think like I think. First, He sent Jesus to die; planning it before the world began — yet His plan does not absolve the guilt of those who crucified Him! Human thinking can hardly make sense of that.
Second, Jesus was raised from the dead because He and death were totally incompatible. That doesn’t make much sense either, unless Jesus was more than mere man.
Most of us think human beings die because we get old, sick, run over by a train, or involved in wars or crime. But the Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” Before Adam and Eve sinned, death was not an issue. It was introduced into existence by their disobedience to God. Now everyone dies because of sin, our own and just the fact of its permeation into everyone in the world.
I’m so aware of human sinfulness — my own! I was born with self-centered thinking, lived many years thinking I was the most important person, and if I had not accepted God’s offer of forgiveness and new life in Christ, I would die in my sins, regardless of what the doctor puts on my death certificate.
Scripture says Jesus died for sin, but not His own — He never sinned. When He was born He was not seeking attention from people, but seeking “His Father’s business.” He was tempted by Satan to show His power and take control of the world, but He refused. The religious leaders tried to trap Him in His words, but He never once said or did anything wrong. That is why they killed Him, and that is why death could not hold Him. Death is for sinners.
His promise to me is not that I won’t die physically, but that death will not hold me. He took my sin on Himself and died for it. As far as God is concerned, it is gone! I am set me free from the penalty of sin, which is not mere physical death but eternal separation from God, eternal death. Physical death will happen, but because He took away my sin, I will also rise with Him to live forever.
I'm so excited; this is utterly amazing. I’m filled with awe and gratitude. God’s plan is incredible — no human could have made it up. In fact, I cannot even make sense of it except that God opened my eyes — another amazing act of His love and grace!
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