Please take the time to read Part 1 posted on March 29th

Part 2

While the cup of the wrath of God was being poured out upon the dying Saviour something else was simultaneously taking place, while our sin having being placed upon his shoulders was being punished, Satan was getting a good hiding he was well and truly being thrashed! Death was about to be defeated and heavens door was going to be flung open wide for all who are willing to believe and enter.

The Victim with the cup was about to become the Victor with the crown.

 On the one hand we see pain, suffering, sorrow, death and seemingly defeat and failure, but on the other hand, thanks be to God and because of our Saviours obedience and willingness to say ‘Not my will but yours be done,’ we see the wrath of God satisfied leading to success and victory.

The Apostle Paul would later write:

 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

“O death, where is your victory?
 O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Before the cross, in Gethsemane at the betrayal, arrest and denial of Jesus and the dreadful hours that followed I can see Satan rubbing his hands with glee.

 At the cross, with Jesus crying out ‘It is finished,’ I can see Satan scratching his head, shaking in his boots, thinking ‘What’s going on here?’

 But, outside the empty tomb I see him stamping his feet, full of rage, shouting out ‘I’m finished with, I’m done’.

 And so the story continues, it moves from the Sons cup of suffering to the Saviours crown of splendor.

 Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,

waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

 In the garden, in the High Priests house, in the palace and at Golgotha when everything seemed to be going wrong from the human point of view, everything was working out perfectly from Gods point of view – and all because of Christ’s act of willing obedience.

 Acts 2:22-23

 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know – this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

 Lets understand again how vitally important the response of Jesus was when he said, ‘Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.’

 IF Jesus had shrunk back and refused to take the cup – the plan, the purposes of God would have gone pear shaped! No cross, no atonement, no resurrection and we would of all men been most miserable without hope, without forgiveness, without salvation facing the cup of the wine of the wrath of God ourselves.

 Returning back to Acts 2 and v24 the story continued:

 “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

 After drinking the cup of the wrath of God, Jesus dies as a victim of a cruel Roman execution upon a cross.

John records for us in 19:32 that he was dead – there were no doubts about it, in 19:38-42 he records the funeral for us.

In Matthews account (27:62-66) we are informed that the Pharisees and Chief Priests are a little bit concerned that Jesus might actually have been speaking the truth when he said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ So they doubled up security to guard the tomb. BUT DEATH COULD NOT HOLD HIM, any amount of security and sealing would not stop him. They could have dumped as many hundreds of tons of rock outside the tomb as they liked it would have made no difference –

The Victim was going to rise as the Victor.

The cup was going to be replaced with a crown.

The torment was going to be replaced with triumph.

 AND the earth shook as an angel came down from heaven and rolled the stone away from the tomb and then sat down upon it – THEN  CAME THE GOOD NEWS

‘HE IS NOT HERE’ – ‘Whose not here?’

 ‘JESUS’ – ‘Why is he not here?’

‘Because HE HAS RISEN’

 

Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,

vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

 Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;

he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!

 Up from the grave he arose;

with a mighty triumph o’er 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!

 JESUS IS ALIVE

He’s alive and he wears a crown, no longer a crown of thorns but a crown of glory, the victor’s crown.

 He triumphed HALLELUJAH!

 He triumphed in the garden

He triumphed on the cross

He triumphed in the tomb

 HE LIVES IN TRIUMPH, for his victory is an eternal victory, his triumph is an endless triumph.

 

All hail the power of Jesus’ name!

Let angels prostrate fall;

bring forth the royal diadem,

and crown him Lord of all.

 

Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race,

ye ransomed from the fall,

hail him who saves you by his grace,

and crown him Lord of all.

 

Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget

the wormwood and the gall,

go spread your trophies at his feet,

and crown him Lord of all.

 

Let every kindred, every tribe

on this terrestrial ball,

to him all majesty ascribe,

and crown him Lord of all.

 

Crown him, ye martyrs of your God,

who from his altar call;

extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod,

and crown him Lord of all.

 

O that with yonder sacred throng

we at his feet may fall!

We’ll join the everlasting song,

and crown him Lord of all.

 

 READ THE FOLLOWING SCRIPTURES 

Ephesians 1:19a-23,  Colossians 1:15, Revelation 1:17-18

 

Philippians 2:5-11

 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 Finally, we need to grasp hold of the depth and the richness of his victorious triumph.

 It wasn’t just an action in which God wanted to show Satan who was in control, it wasn’t just to defeat death, it wasn’t just a means for presenting Christ with the Victors crown and with a position of authority above anybody and everything else – IT WAS TO REDEEM MANKIND – YOU AND ME.

 The Lord Jesus took the cup not only to triumph over everything that he did triumph over BUT SO THAT WE MAY SHARE IN THE TRIUMPH WITH HIM.

 He became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)

He conquered sin so that we may be delivered from our sin

He defeated death so that we may attain to the resurrection of a new life

His triumph means that we can also know triumph. Returning to 1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory (or who causes us to triumph) through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 And one day the angel of the Lord will descend again, with a shout and with a trumpet blast of triumph and the dead in Christ will be raised, those who are alive will be caught up, so that together we may be with the Lord.

 

 Crown him with many crowns,

the Lamb upon his throne,

Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns

all music but its own.

Awake, my soul, and sing

of him who died for thee,

and hail him as thy matchless King

through all eternity.

 

Crown him the Lord of life,

who triumphed o’er the grave,

and rose victorious in the strife

for those he came to save.

His glories now we sing,

who died, and rose on high,

who died, eternal life to bring,

and lives that death may die.

 

Crown him the Lord of peace,

whose power a scepter sways

from pole to pole, that wars may cease,

and all be prayer and praise.

His reign shall know no end,

and round his pierced feet

fair flowers of paradise extend

their fragrance ever sweet.

 

Crown him the Lord of love;

behold his hands and side,

those wounds, yet visible above,

in beauty glorified.

All hail, Redeemer, hail!

For thou hast died for me;

thy praise and glory shall not fail

throughout eternity.

 

Article © Haydn Greenow 2013