The great story of death and life

Ash Wednesday means we are getting ready for Good Friday and Easter: the great story of death and life.

We are so used to thinking that death is final, but the death of Jesus on the cross on Good Friday changes that forever.

His death brings life! How does that work?

Crucifixion was a terrible way to die, but Jesus went to the cross out of love for the world. On the cross, although he was the sinless Holy One of Israel, Jesus took upon himself the sin of the world. He dies for sin and gives us his righteousness as a free gift as we are baptised into his death. Through the work of Jesus on the cross, we receive our peace with God. Dr Martin Luther has taught us to call this the great exchange. The death of Jesus gives the free gift of eternal life for all who believe.

Each year, we get ready for the Easter holidays with delicious chocolates, buns and bunnies, but in the background, there is always the cross. For Christians, the cross is no longer the sign of suffering and death that it was for people in the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus. The cross is a sign of hope because of all that Jesus has done for us.

For Jesus, Good Friday was a matter of life and death.

Because of Jesus, Good Friday is now a matter of death and life – for our sake.

‘If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him’ (2 Timothy 2:11,12).

God guide you and your family as you travel through the Lenten season this year, to the cross and empty tomb of our gracious Lord Jesus, to live as people of hope in the resurrection of the dead and of the life of the world to come.

In Christ,
Rev Paul Smith
Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand