Because of our sin, we tend to stay blind to what God is doing. We wonder what God is doing or if he is really in control. We misunderstand that God is using the greatest suffering to bring about the greatest victory. Jesus willingly suffers, dies, and is buried to fulfill and porve everything that was ever written about him. The gospel shows how Jesus was using the greatest evil in the sinful hearts of man to bring about the good possible. The full redemption and salvation to every one who would put their faith and Trust in Jesus as their King.

We have all sinned and rebelled against God, and like Barabbas, we deserve the death penalty, eternal, spiritual death. The innocent One, Jesus Christ, took the criminal’s place so that the criminals could be set free. The King of the universe was mocked as a fake king, and he allowed it to happen in order to save us. If we have a Savior and King like this, what can we do but serve him, love him, and worship him?

We all screw up, but how we respond when we do is what matters most. Our sin nature makes us want to hide from God when we sin when He is, in fact, the One person we need most! Christ died to save sinners like you and me. When we understand his sacrifice and what it does for us, we aren’t afraid of the Father. We run to him in our mistakes and receive his forgiveness.

We think we can control what Jesus can or cannot do in our lives. We think we can define how and when he works in our lives. The gospel teaches us that God is sovereign over all things, even when it seems like we are in control and he is not. He is always in control. His work of grace, redemption, and salvation will be accomplished whether we want to or not.

We tend to rely on our own strength to be enough in life for God, ourselves, and our families. In our pride, we rely on the power of the flesh, rather than seek the strength of the Spirit in prayer to overcome. But Jesus shows us where unfailing strength comes from by modeling how to endure and walk in obedience. It is all through prayer.

Our hearts betray Jesus because we are selfish, sinful, and broken, and there’s nothing we can do on our own to change that. We have all betrayed Jesus through sin and rebellion. Christ died for the sake of sinners, so that we could be redeemed and be ready for his return. If we trust in his work for our salvation (his body and blood) instead of our work for salvation, he will redeem us, heal us, and fit us for his coming Kingdom.

When Jesus doesn’t do what we want or expect, it is easy to lose faith and patience and end up rejecting him to our own detriment. Jesus brings life through death, but we need faith in order to wait around long enough to see it. The resurrection is the greatest proof of the most extravagant gift, and the only right response is to an extravagant sacrifice back to him.

We fail to recognize that the way we steward God’s resources and serve those around us reveals whether we truly know and trust Him as a master. As a result, we respond with passivity and fear rather than faith and obedience. How we respond to the master reveals how much we know and trust him. Instead of being driven by passivity and fear, we must remember that our actions have eternal consequences and, ultimately, determine what kind of reward we receive.

We often think that as long as we are near the things of God or the people of God, then we are ready for the return of Christ, but it is only when the oil of God, the Holy Spirit, is in us that we are truly ready. Christ died in order to cleanse us from sin and make us holy enough to be vessels for His Spirit. Then, after his resurrection, he gained the power to breathe his Spirit on all who have faith in him. When we are sealed and filled with the Holy Spirit, we are truly ready for Christ to come back.