resurrection

Soft sand slid under His feet; the air was pure and fragrant, redolent with the life it carried as He breathed it deep into His lungs, His body regaining its strength as He felt the lifeblood coursing again through His veins.

Three days He had spent in the grave, bound and lifeless as His Spirit traveled far, descending into the darkest reaches of Sheol on its vital journey. His mission? To reclaim the keys of death and hell, those vital keys upon whose ownership the whole of creation depended. In a contest that cost His life, He was winning them back, and in doing so, releasing mankind from the chains of their fear and death. Thereafter, should they choose, they would walk in the victory of the new life He’d won for them through the act of His death, and the miracle of His resurrection.

As He strode through the blackness, He remembered His own words, desperate pleas as He faced the horror ahead … if it be possible…’ But it was not possible. He’d always known that. He’d chosen, before the beginning of time, to walk this route. Resident within Him was mankind’s destiny.

As He moved soundlessly through the long night of the underworld, the exhilaration, the glory of doing His Father’s will sustained Him. He knew this was a walk of triumph, of ultimate victory already won through the laying down of His own life. His thoughts dwelt on the love and grace of His Father’s heart toward those He came to save, the Imago Dei, humankind, God’s very image. His own deep anguish and heart wrenching desolation, surrendered in obedience through the pouring out of blood, and sweat and tears, had become Father’s mightiest triumph… and humanity’s perfect salvation.

And there, ahead, gleaming softly in the gloom, lay the keys… lost aeons ago.

No, not lost; blindly surrendered to the thief whose tailored lies had deceived and defrauded the Imago Dei of eternal life, damning to destruction the race of man.

And incredibly… there was no guard. The captor of the keys and human lives, in his arrogance and vanity now so sure of his victory, no longer felt any need to post a sentinel. He had destroyed the Lord of Glory; the Father’s final trump card was dead and in the grave. The adversary, so certain his right to the keys would never, could never again be challenged.

Silently, the scarred hands of the carpenter reached through the shadows… and his fingers closed around the keys. Laser light blazed through the night, blinding the accuser, destroying the darkness, brilliance obliterating doom and damnation. The screams of horror as realisation dawns on the father of lies, go howling down through the centuries: Their Saviour is alive. IT IS FINISHED.

Christ, eyes radiating fire, and face shining like the sun in all its brilliance, strides out of death and into life everlasting. And with Him, falling into line behind, a mighty army of believers follow in His steps, as generation after generation rises to take their place as the saints of God, whose lives He bought with His own life.

It is finished. That ancient enemy is defeated, once, for all. Jesus is crowned Lord of all!

And because Jesus’ sacrifice was completely infused with love for ALL mankind with no differentiation… with no differentiation…it is finished for all who believe. All those things that bind and discourage us, the things that damn and diminish us, are robbed of their power, because that fight to the finish finished off our enemy.

When Jesus said: It is finished, He meant it for us.

This is the intellectual property of Bev Murrill under copyright © Contact the author on this webpage for permission to reuse.

A preacher, writer, leadership consultant and mentor, Bev is passionate about justice, about the Church and its leaders, and has a special concern for women in leadership. A church and network leader for four decades, entrepreneurial founder of several international initiatives, and a mother and grandmother, Bev's life experience, coupled with her willingness to look at life from different points of view, have supported and encouraged many leaders across the globe. You can contact her on this page to book her to speak at conferences or for leadership mentoring or consultation.