COLOSSIANS 2:13-17
CHARGES OF SIN: CRUSHED COMPLETELY!
Colossians 2:13 When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,
SUSIE: We were spiritually dead, unable to bring ourselves to life because of sin. God placed faith in us and drew us into relationship with Jesus that we might be made alive.
SUSAN: It is only in Jesus, that we can do anything. Had Jesus remained in the grave, we would have been forever dead and separated from God for all eternity. Had Adam and Eve not been expelled from the Garden of Eden and were able to eat from the Tree of Life, they (as well as we) would have remained separated from God and sin-filled forever. God’s expelling them from the Garden was actually a merciful act.
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever…” Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
Genesis 3:22-23 (BSB)
SUSAN: God demonstrated His love through this act of mercy because He knew redemption was on its way at the appointed time in “HisStory”. In fact, He had a plan before Adam and Eve were ever created.
. . . And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (the Beast), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. [emphasis added)
Revelation 13:8b (BSB)
SUSIE: Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross as God’s final, perfect Lamb was planned when earth was first being formed even before Adam sinned. Since God raised Jesus from the tomb, those whose names are written in His book—those who trust in Him alone for salvation—will be raised to a new life in Him and look forward to being with Him forever in the place He is preparing for each of us who believe.
Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.
John 14:1-4 (BSB)
SUSAN: As we have noted before, Jesus IS the only way (John 14:6).
Colossians 2:14 having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!
SUSIE: When a criminal was nailed to the cross, the charges against him were posted on the cross as well. Jesus symbolically nailed all our sins, all the charges against us, to His cross since He was crucified in OUR place.
SUSAN: There was a placard placed on the cross with Jesus:
Pilate also had a notice posted on the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
John 19:19 (BSB)
A title (v. 19), or placard, stating the crime for which a man was executed was often fastened to his cross. The full title, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS, and John’s detail that Pilate caused it to be written corresponds to the formal criminal charge of sedition.
Zondervan KJV Commentary
SUSIE: Pilate’s official condemnation of Jesus was that He was committing treason against Caesar by being proclaimed “King of the Jews.” However, the price He paid was truly for the debt of sin that we owed to God. Our condemnation was placed upon Him.
We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:6 (BSB)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 (BSB)
SUSAN: The Lord Jesus knew that He was the only one capable of paying this debt of sin because He was the only acceptable sacrifice, a sinless man. Therefore, on our behalf, He willingly sacrificed Himself.
Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself.
Hebrews 7:27 (BSB)
SUSIE: He completely satisfied our debt and handed us the proof of acquittal as a free gift. Our only responsibility is to receive the gift by trusting in Jesus.
ACTIVITY: Visualize your sins being nailed to the cross of Christ. Draw a simple picture of a cross with a placard at the top. Write “All the sins of” and your name on the placard. For example, “All the sins of Susan.” Then write over the placard in big, red letters, “Paid in Full.” Pray or perhaps even write out a prayer thanking the Lord Jesus for dying in your place to pay the price of your sins.
Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
SUSIE: The picture in verse 15 is that of a victorious general leading his captives behind him to be humiliated in front of the crowds.
SUSAN: Jesus’ victory on the cross defeated forever Satan, sin, death, and Satan’s demons. He sentenced them to eternal torment.
Faith regards the cross not as the emblem of shame but as the token of glory. It tells us that the cross was Jesus Christ’s field of triumph. There he fought and there he conquered, too.
The Spurgeon Study Bible, Alistair Begg, editor.
SUSIE: According to 1 Peter 3:18-19, Jesus’ spirit even went and announced His victory over them while His earth-suit was in the tomb for three days.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit, in which also having gone, He preached to the spirits in prison . . .
1 Peter 3:18-19
SUSAN: Because of Jesus’s victory over sin and death, we, too, are “more than conquerors!”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39 (BSB)
WORSHIP ACTIVITY: Too often, we leave Jesus on the cross. For some reason it is easier to picture Him as the Suffering Servant than as the Victorious King. We need to embrace both pictures. The old hymn “Victory in Jesus” comes to mind. Look it up in a hymnal or YouTube and sing along. His victory is your victory if you have surrendered your life to Him as your King.
Colossians 2:16-17 Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.
SUSIE: Paul warned the Colossians not to succumb to legalism. Under the new covenant, the Old Testament dietary restrictions are removed. There is no need to celebrate the Passover since Jesus IS our Passover Lamb. There is no longer a need to make sacrifices with each new moon or special festival because Jesus was the final sacrifice, the only sacrifice that could make us right with God. Jesus IS our Sabbath rest.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2 (BSB)
PONDER THIS: Imagine you were a convicted criminal, headed to prison or even death row, and an innocent person stepped up and said, “I’ll take that punishment for the guilty one.” Wouldn’t you be eternally grateful to that person? This really is the case. We were all guilty of sin and under a death penalty, but Jesus took our punishment by dying on the cross in our place. All we have to do is accept His gift, and we are moved from death row to abundant life row—anticipating eternal life in paradise with Jesus. We know this reality to be true because the believing thief on the cross was promised paradise that day by Jesus.
ASSIGNMENT: Shouldn’t we live our lives in gratitude and praise? DEFINITELY! Write a paragraph or poem of praise. Specifically name attributes of God and gifts for which you are thankful. Tell someone about His marvelous gift of grace today!
WORSHIP ACTIVITY: Never forget how it feels to be free! Listen to a great song by Phillips, Craig & Dean here and sing along if you know it: