Easter: Christ’s cross, crown

Last Sunday I did not go for worship service at our usual venue in town because I wanted to rest and recover from an injury sustained in an accident.
Obviously, lonely and devoid of the usual praise and worship I am used to enjoying every Sunday, I expected that day to be uneventful and boring. But God amazed me by bringing the worship music I needed to my doorstep. He caused the Roman Catholics, who were celebrating Palm Sunday with palm tree branches, to pass by my  place. God wanted to stress the point about His care to supply my needs everywhere and every time so He caused them to camp for a while directly opposite where I was seated outside the house.
Immediately, my attention was moved from pain to the pleasure-giving melodious songs of worship they were corporately and enthusiastically singing. The worship songs, the drum beats and the stylistic dancing swept me temporarily into the heavenly realm where I became oblivious of the pain. Then I thought to myself about why we spend time criticising other churches. It dawned on me that church names do not matter; if one truly worships God in spirit and truth he/she will find God everywhere.    
It was one of their worship songs that jolted me into thinking about the significance of Easter. The song goes, in our vernacular language thus:  Mwanakomana waDhaviti, ngaarumbidzwe. Hos-ana kumatenga-tenga. They were on scriptural ground. It is a song based on the scriptural account of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as a humble King and Lord riding on an ass a few days ahead of his death on the cross. Saint Matthew’s account reads, “And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? (Matthew 21:8-11).
Christ’s triumphal entry heightened the jealousy and hatred of his enemies, who plotted his arrest, trial and death on the cross. Crucifixion was the vilest and most painful form of death reserved for the most wicked criminals. On the cross the love and justice of God met.
Humanity had sinned and according to divine justice we deserved judgment and punishment. But God demonstrated his great love for us in that while were yet sinners on the death row He gave us a substitute; His only son Jesus to die in our pace. This is the amazing grace of God for sinners. Any sinner today remains so by choice because on the cross free salvation is yours for the taking. The cross makes salvation a free benefit. Cease from trying to earn salvation by doing good works. No, you are saved by grace through faith in the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross for you (Ephesians 2:8).
Some want to first stop sinning before they come to Christ. They will never. You have to simply receive the grace of God by childlike faith. Come to Jesus in whatever form you are; murderer, prostitute, liar, thief etc and you will be saved for free. The Bible says that God will by no means cast away whoever comes to Him. Salvation does not come by struggling but by believing the work of the cross. You need to believe that you died with Christ on the cross. You also need to believe that you were buried with Christ. This is your identification with Christ’s cross experience. It means your old nature of sin died and was buried with Christ. You are now a new creation.   
After the humiliation of the cross Christ Jesus was raised from the dead on Sunday morning. Resurrection put a crown of triumph on Jesus’ head. The major effect of resurrection is that it declares Jesus’ victory over Satan and Hades. Christians have a reason to rejoice because Christ, our elder brother has destroyed the power of Hades to imprison the dead and has removed for ever the terrors of its punishment. Christ has been crowned King of the whole universe.
It is, therefore, wrong to emphasise the cross in our preaching and thinking to the exclusion of resurrection. Christians should no longer dwell their minds on the cross which speaks of death, weakness and sin but on the resurrection which speaks of our victorious, righteous and exalted position together with Christ.
-For guidance to receive salvation and Easter celebration call 0772889766 or email mairos78@yahoo.co.uk