Crucified

John 19:18 (NASB)

There they crucified Him.

The crucifixion of the Lord was a tremendous victory from God's view, but a catastrophe from man's perspective. Satan thought he had won the battle against God by wiping out His Son. The Pharisees and the Jews thought they had eliminated a blasphemer and done God a favor. The mob thought they had rid Israel and the world of a crazy man. The Apostles and those who believed thought they had lost their rabbi forever. But what none of them knew or understood was that what was a failure from the world's perspective was a tremendous victory from God's perspective.

It was not merely Christ's physical body that was nailed to the cross, but every law that became a stumbling block to humanity, every authority and power that exalted itself above God, every sin, blasphemy and temptation that dragged sinners to the pits of hell, every discouragement and failure that plagued humanity since the fall of Adam, and every obstacle between a sinful man and a holy God. By allowing Himself to be crucified, Christ destroyed any and everything that separated a fallen man from a righteous God. The crucifixion of the Master catapulted a fallen humanity into eternity and into God's bosom. That is the greatest triumph in all of creation.