Amazing. Powerful. Love.
Can you recall how heavy your worst sin felt before you confessed it to God and received forgiveness? Imagine if the crushing weight of all your sins (every sin you’ve ever committed) suddenly dropped on you.
Now, envision if all the world’s sins, every sin ever committed, were suddenly dumped on you. Are there any words that can describe how it would feel?
We’ll never come close to imagining how Jesus felt when the sins of the whole world came crashing upon Him on the cross.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV).
Jesus, Who never sinned and therefore never experienced the weight of even one sin (see 1 Peter 2:22), suddenly felt the load of every sin mankind ever committed, past, present and future. And, going above and beyond anything anyone has ever done for us, He not only bore our sins – He became our sin!
Jesus took the punishment for our sins so we could live in right relationship with God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21).
God the Father treated Jesus, the sinless Son of God, as if He was the one who had sinned. But even as the Father poured our sins onto His Son while Jesus hung on the cross, Jesus maintained His absolute holiness.
Theologian Charles Wesley described Christ’s sacrifice in the beloved hymn, “Amazing Love,” in the lyrics, “Amazing love, how can it be, that thou, my God, shouldst die for me.”
Jesus willingly went to the cross, bore our sins, became sin, gave up His life – and rose three days later – so that we could be set free from Satan’s control and live with Him for eternity.
As I prepared for this column, I read the final chapters about Jesus and His resurrection several times in all four Gospels. For the rest of this Easter season, I encourage you to do the same. As you read, circle the words “Jesus” and each pronoun that references Him. Next to each circled word, write a descriptive word or phrase. For example, next to the circled “Jesus” you could write something like, “The Son of God!” or “My Savior!”
Add comments, such as prayers, feelings or thoughts of gratitude, in the margins or blank spaces. Make each verse real to you. As you do this, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of God’s love for you and underscore Who it was Who suffered so much … for you.
Some find it hard to believe that Jesus rose from the grave. I find it even harder to believe that God could love us (an obstinate, rebellious people) enough to die for us.
Amazing love! Amazing. Powerful. Love.
What about you?
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this post. (Your comment might also benefit others.)
- When did you experience God’s amazing love as described in this post?
- If you’ve yet to know Christ as your Savior (One Who paid for your sins by dying on the cross), will you consider accepting His gift of salvation today? Invite Jesus to make His home in your heart and life by confessing to God that you are a sinner. Tell Him you know you can’t perform enough good deeds or say enough prayers to redeem yourself. Ask Jesus to be your Savior and Lord (authority of your life). If you do, this will be the best Easter you’ve ever experienced.
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Outstanding, thank you for all your articles. Appreciate you. Dave
Thank you so much, Dave!
I appreciate you!
When have you experienced God’s amazing love as described in this post?
How did it change your life?
How did it change . . . you?
Amen. May we never take God’s amazing, powerful love for granted.
We attended a Good Friday service and the sermon was describing all of what Jesus did for us through all 4 gospels, the prayer in Gethsemane, the scourging, suffering, humiliation, unfair punishment, crown of thorns, carrying the cross to Golgotha and enduring all the pain of being nailed and hung on the cross for ALL our sins, his death, burial and finally his resurrection, (which will be saved for tomorrow). Then we shared the Lord’s supper to remember all that Jesus did for us! Amazing unfathomable, and unconditional love He gave to us so we could live eternally with Him. Just mind blowing! “I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: yea and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” John 6:51 “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15. Thanks Sheryl!✝️
Amen!! Great comment, Kim. Thank you.
In our last Women of the Word meeting (April 1), I also went through all four gospels reading how Christ suffered … for us. It was powerful!
Amazing. Powerful. Love.
Good morning Sheryl I love your suggestion of going through all 4 gospels. I will.do this in my quiet time. Sunday is coming.
It will be life-changing and heart-changing, Susan!
And thank you for sharing this devotion on your Facebook page, Susan.
I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was twenty one while a student at Florida State, but I wasn’t introduced to Him until I was forty two. And that was in the floorboard of an F250, in the parking lot of an aweful waffle in Chamblee, Ga. I remember being in the passenger seat in tears, talking to my boss Mark Brown about giving my life to Christ, then suddenly, I was on the floor of the truck experiencing the tremendous weight of the battle for my soul between God and the Devil. I was in agony, I could anct feel the battle internally, and then just as suddenly the weight rushed audibly ( to me) upward out of my body and I experienced God’s unconditional love for the first time. It was incredible. For the first time in my life, and perhaps the only time, the inside of my cup was clean.
Wow! What a powerful testimony, Hugh. Thank you for sharing part of your story with us.
AND welcome to Today Can Be Different. I hope you stop by often.