Jesus Christ the Victor, Not Helpless Victim

At this time of year we reflect on events from nearly 2,000 years ago that changed the world—the suffering and death of Jesus of Nazareth at the Passover festival followed by His resurrection and ascension into heaven. The Jewish religious leadership, declaring Him a blasphemer, pressed the Roman state into condemning Him as a criminal insurrectionist, resulting in His beating, scourging and crucifixion.

Just days before, the Jewish crowds had celebrated what’s often called His triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the descendant of David who would save them—the Messiah or Christ. They had been awaiting a military leader who would overthrow the Roman occupiers and sit on the throne of David as conquering King, ruling over all nations. But their hopes were dashed. How could this man who died in ignominious defeat and total humiliation at the hands of the Romans be the Messiah?

This shameful horror made it very difficult for many Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah even after news later spread of His resurrection, with most unwilling to believe. Likewise, to the Greco-Roman world, the notion of a crucified criminal somehow being the divine Lord to worship and follow was deemed absurd and scandalous. As the apostle Paul later stated, “But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23).

But God often does things rather differently from what people would expect: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God . . . It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (verses 18, 21).

What people had a hard time grasping was that Jesus’ crucifixion and death was not defeat at all. Rather, Jesus had told His disciples regarding His life being given in sacrifice, “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself” (John 10:18). Coming to suffer and die was His mission—and accomplishing it as He did was a total victory!

Indeed, He drove things along to make it happen as it did. He was not a passive victim. He was pressing events forward. There were a few times where Jesus might have been freed—such as when false witnesses did not agree. But He made sure He was not freed. He spoke the words that incensed the leaders to have Him executed. Or He refrained from speaking when He could have possibly avoided crucifixion, as with Pilate.

Those who killed Jesus were not in charge. He was—every step of the way. His life was not taken—He gave it. And in so doing He was the victor—along with His Father who orchestrated what happened to fulfill Their plan. The Gospel writers related the details—but they didn’t invent them. They testify to God working masterfully behind the scenes.

The Jewish leadership and the Roman state did not win the day at Christ’s death. He did. Satan did not win. He did. Satan tried to tempt Jesus out of His mission—to get Him to run and forsake humanity. But Jesus would not fail! He succeeded. He ordered Satan through Judas to carry out his betrayal quickly. He came to die on the Passover day as the true Passover Lamb sacrifice—and that’s exactly what He did. He lasted through horrible suffering to the moment of death without ever giving into sin. That is truly ultimate victory—ultimate triumph.

Our cover story in this issue, “The Ultimate Triumph,” traces the path of Jesus to His execution in light of the highest honor and exaltation celebrated in the Roman Empire—the Roman triumph, a victory procession meant to usher the honoree into royal divine glory. Some correspondence between these shows Jesus to be the true and greatest victor—putting to shame the megalomaniacal imaginings of earthly Caesars and the demonic forces driving them on. And in Jesus’ victory is our victory. We are not helpless victims of circumstance either—if He is leading our life.

We further delve into the biblical spring festivals of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, which are not just Jewish observances but Christian celebrations of the redeeming and delivering work of Jesus Christ. The mainstream Christian world has supplanted these festivals with the Easter tradition, rooted in pagan worship and falsehood. It’s important that we return to what God teaches in His Word. Along these lines, we are encouraged to remove sin and hypocrisy from our lives, embracing instead godly sincerity and truth.

We also take a look at a popular new book on the Sabbath by the late Charlie Kirk. And in the face of some recent debate in the mainstream Christian world over the topic of eternal hellfire, we consider what the Bible actually says.

Above all we look to the work of God through Jesus Christ—in what He has done in securing our redemption, in what He continues to do in leading us to be like Him, and what He will yet do in transforming us to glory to be part of His awesome coming reign over the world. Jesus is the mighty Lord who reigns in victory. Accept His reign and victory in your life today!