𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘩, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭, 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘣 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝗟𝗨𝗞𝗘 𝟮𝟯:𝟱𝟬–𝟱𝟰

Read also 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟮𝟳:𝟱𝟳–𝟱𝟵; 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝟭𝟱:𝟰𝟮–𝟰𝟳; 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟵:𝟯𝟴.

𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩

The cross is the primary symbol of Christianity. Jesus’ death on the cross has forever changed what it originally meant. While it used to only signify torture, suffering, pain, and humiliation, it now carries a message of hope and victory. The true message of the gospel lies in the truth that Jesus was not only crucified on the cross; He was also taken down, buried, and resurrected.

The cross of Christ is empty. This means that Jesus really took our place and died the death we should have died. He did not pretend to be dead and then silently came down. He did not escape in the dead of the night and hid so that He could leave His disciples with the message that He is just “somehow” dead. People knew and saw that His body was taken down, prepared, and buried. His death signified that He really did what He said He would do—He really died and suffered for all our sins.

The empty cross is also proof that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient and complete. He did not stay on the cross or have to go back to it. His work is done. It is finished! Unlike others who died on the cross, His death was not hopeless or a dead end. Because He truly died but did not remain dead, His cross is a symbol of hope and victory. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝘃𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀.

This Black Saturday is usually a picture of grief and despair based on the idea that Jesus is dead. But Christ’s death was a preparation for the ultimate victory. At the dawn of Christ’s resurrection day, He provided the ultimate blow against death and He conquered its sting. Today, we can rejoice and celebrate that the cross stands empty.

“The Old Rugged Cross” by George Bennard

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦

𝘈 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦

𝘍𝘰𝘳 ‘𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥

𝘛𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺 𝘮𝘦

𝘚𝘰 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴

𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯

𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙙

• Knowing that the message of the empty cross is that Jesus’ death is real, what are the struggles and issues in our life that we need to put to death together with Christ?

• As we reflect on the empty cross, are there times that we feel that our faith is empty and hopeless? Why?

• What are the areas in your past that still bring shame and guilt? How can you live a life of confidence in Jesus’ death and sacrifice at the cross?

𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧

Lord, today, remind me and help me understand Your death on the cross. Remind me of how true and complete Your death is so that I can live confidently in You. Thank You because the old has passed away and I am no longer who I used to be. Make me understand that because of the empty cross, Your sacrifice is complete. I no longer need to trust myself and instead live a life of complete trust in You. Amen.