Do You Think of Christ’s Sacrifice As Current Reality?

Here at Focus, and for Christians everywhere, this is a sacred weekend.

Today is Good Friday, and this Sunday is Easter.

It’s this weekend that we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago.

But let me ask you, do you think of Christ’s sacrifice more as historic fact or current reality?

In the day-to-day grind of life, it’s easy to forget that the God of history is also the God of today.

Dr. Tony Evans tells the story of a chess champion who was visiting an art gallery when he came across a painting portraying a chess game between a young man and the devil.

The young man in the painting stared at the chess pieces, facing certain defeat to the devil who was about to make the last move and win the young man’s soul.

But as the chess champion studied the arrangement of the pieces on the board, he realized the circumstances the young man in the painting faced weren’t as bad as they first appeared. He, not the devil, got to make the final move.

Dr. Evans says world history has been something of a cosmic chess game where God and Satan respond to each other’s moves with a countermove of their own. The Old Testament can be viewed as one long succession of move, countermove, move, countermove.

By the time you get to the end of the Old Testament, you have an apparent draw, with no clear winner. For 400 silent years after the Old Testament, both sides sit and stare at the board.

But the New Testament opens with Matthew explaining how God entered into human history in the person of Jesus Christ.

Satan’s countermove was to rid the world of the Son of God. And so, on the Friday before Passover, Jesus was crucified on the cross.

For a short time, it looked like Satan had won.

But, early on Sunday morning, just a little while before sunrise, God made His final move.

The stone to Jesus’ tomb was rolled away, and the angels declared, “He is not here. He is risen, just as He said” (Matthew 28:6).

Christ’s death and resurrection forever erased any notion that God’s activity in our world is limited to a moment in history in some distant place. It not only bought our eternal salvation, it demonstrated God’s desire to give us power for living today. The Gospel is not merely good news for the past; it is power for the present, and hope for the future.

On this Good Friday, I encourage you to take a moment in your day and reflect on the significance of what Jesus Christ did on the cross and what His resurrection means to a lost and hurting world – and to you and me.

Along these lines, I hope you’ll join us for today’s broadcast, “Jesus and His Power,” featuring a special message by Dr. Tony Evans, the Senior Pastor of Oakcliff Bible Church in Dallas, TX, president of The Urban Alternative, and the host of his own radio program. Dr. Evans weaves together vivid illustrations and his terrific sense of humor with the profound truth of the Gospel.

I think you’ll enjoy it. Tune in to your local radio station. Or find our program online or via our free, downloadable mobile phone app.