Epic Battle!

I will admit that I am a history junkie! My wife knows that if we travel somewhere together, we will be stopping at every historic site along the way and that I am one of those people that feel compelled to read every plaque in every museum! She is quite patient with me!

However, there is one battle site that I have never seen, but it is the site of the most epic battle of all time. It was a battle that determined the very fate of all mankind and yet there were only a handful of people involved in the battle. Unlike many of the great battles of history, very few people even knew it was taking place and at the end of the day, there appeared to be only one casualty...and that casualty was a spotless lamb. You see this battle had been shaping up since before the foundation of the world. You see, nothing that happened after Creation was an accident or a surprise! God knew we would need someone to pay the penalty for our sins. So before "In the beginning..." God planned for our sin and for our redemption with the death of His Son. And on a small hill outside of Jerusalem, the battle for the souls and hearts of men took place. The forces of evil were represented by satan and all his minions, and yet the forces for good were represented by one solitary individual who really put up no fight at all. He did not speak a word of command in the battle, in fact, he did nothing to defend himself. He was lead to the small hill and with the pounding of a Roman hammer on 3 iron spikes, it appeared that the battle was over, once and for all, and that the forces of evil had finally taken complete control of God's creation.

However, like many battles, it took awhile for the dust to settle and to determine the real impact of the battle. In this case it took exactly three days, but for those three days, satan and his demons rejoiced at the fact that the One who was sent to redeem the souls of men was now dead and entombed along with any hope for redemption. As the dawn broke that third day, a sad group of disciples came to the tomb. They had no idea that the battle was still raging and that they were about to see the event that would change the course of eternity. When they reached the tomb and looked inside expecting to find a body of the One they had followed, they saw grave clothes, but no body! I can imagine that at that point a demonic scream echoed through the halls of time and eternity as satan realized that not only had he lost the battle, but the war was over and he had been utterly and completely defeated for all time. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you and I were redeemed from the penalty of our sin for all time.

Most people do not think of Easter as a time to remember a battle, but I think it is the perfect time!