Conquering because of Calvary!​​

By Helen Jesze, 18th March 2016

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He (even) gave His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him should not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting life). For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.”

John 3, 16 Amplified Bible

In Brazil a herdsman wanted to take his cows across a river to graze on the other side, but the water was full of Piranha fishes. (These fishes are among the world’s 10 most dangerous fish and have unbelievably strong jaws and razor-­sharp teeth. Although they are only approximately 30cms. long, they attack their prey in packs of 100 or more, and it is said that Piranhas can reduce an animal of 45 kilos in weight to a skeleton, in less than 60 seconds!)

The cowman was not worried for he had experienced this before and knew what to do, so he killed a bull and threw it in the water. Its blood drew all the Piranhas and they attacked the carcass. Now the rest of the herd could be taken safely across the river, 200 metres further up. ​One gave its life so that all the others could be saved.

There was Another, who gave His life so that all others could be saved. Joseph Guarnerius wrote the following words in Latin on the inside of every violin he produced: ​“The answer to your life is written in your violin – Jesus, Redeemer of Mankind.”

This weekend we have Palm Sunday, when we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey; the crowds threw down their clothes and palms from the trees for Him to ride over. Many of those who cried “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” may have been some of those who, a few days later, cried out to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” for we are just a few days away from Easter, that time of the year when we remember His suffering, His death on the cross of Calvary, His burial and resurrection.

This is the most important time of the Christian’s year, for although the world makes a great deal of Christmas and the ​birth of the Saviour, yet He came for the sole purpose of ​dying ​and rising again from the dead to set us free from the bondage of sin and satan. Many look upon Jesus as a “good man”, “a martyr”, “a prophet”. He was more than a good man and a prophet – He was Jesus Christ – the Anointed One, the Son of the living God. He was no martyr for a cause; He gave​, laid down His life for us – it was ​not ​taken from Him.

In 1970 George and I were ministering in Norway. In a church in Stavanger we saw a huge painting on the wall behind the pulpit and it reached from the ceiling down to the platform. In the picture were three crosses on the hill of Calvary. Under the middle cross lay a dead serpent with a crushed head, and a stream of crystal ­clear water was bursting out of the hill. This was the fulfilment of the promise which God had made in the Garden of Eden:

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel, ​”

Genesis 4, 15.

Jesus ​did tread on and crush the serpent, satan, and when His body was in the grave He went down into hell and took back the keys of death and hell, thus robbing satan of the spiritual authority which Adam and Eve’s sin had given to him. The water of eternal Life flows from Calvary and all who will receive Jesus as their personal Saviour and drink of this water, will have Life eternal.

God gave His best – His only Son – to set us free and make us into His image. This victory covers every part of our life. The blood of untold animals had been sacrificed under the Old Testament covenant but that could only ​cover the sins of the people, to turn away God’s wrath. But the sinless blood of Jesus is able to break the power of original sin in our hearts and ​change us. If we have now taken Jesus as our personal Saviour, He has given us the gift of righteousness and now God looks at us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Many churches nowadays mention little about Christ and His sufferings, about Calvary and the need for the power of sin to be broken in our life. Instead of ‘sin’, much is talked about ‘our problem’, ‘our weakness’, and that we need ‘therapy’ instead of getting set free by the power of Jesus. Let me give you an illustration.

My husband and I were holding a week’s meetings in a Christian holiday and spiritual retreat house in Germany. There was another group there, besides the people who had come to our program. This group belonged to a Christian organization which helped people with addictions. We arranged times so that we could both separately use the chapel for our services.

On the altar at the front was a banner with the words “Paid by the blood”, and red drops of blood falling, beautifully embroidered on a white background. I loved it and praised God for the spiritual insight, the creativity and the courage of the persons who had made and put the banner on the altar. I was all the more dismayed to see after the other group had used the chapel for one of their “sessions”, that the banner had been deliberately covered up!

The message was obvious; these Christians would rather keep walking round “the pit they had been dug from”, constantly talking about “their problem”, remaining the ‘victim’, instead of allowing Jesus by His blood and delivering power to set them completely free! Even when we had first met each of this group and shaken hands with them, each had introduced themselves with words such as: “I am Peter, an alcoholic” or “I am Mary, a drug­ addict”.

While we know there is a place for ‘therapy’ and counselling, yet this kind of therapy on its own will ​never ​set people free and keep ​them free. Some of our bondages have come because of our sin, and we will never be free of the consequences of our actions until we name them for what they are, repent and let Jesus break sin’s power over us. The victory of Calvary and His blood can be ours, if we will accept it!

We may not have a violin where these words are written, but they can be written on our hearts and experience that Jesus Christ is the answer to Life’s problems, for he is the Redeemer of the world! You and I can conquer today because of Calvary!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you so much for dying for me! I praise you for the power of Calvary and of your blood! I worship you today and glory in the new life that you have given me, for whom the Son sets free, is ​free indeed! ​I am clean, I am free, I am made whole and redeemed by your blood! Praise your holy Name! Amen.

Empty crosses and an empty tomb!

A very Happy Easter to you!!