Someone told me this week that sometimes I get fixated on things. That I get an idea in my head and I spend a lot of time just thinking about that concept over and over. Well that same day I became fixated on a song. I heard the song, and then proceeded to listen to it over 30 times in the next few days. The song is “Death was Arrested” and it came from North Point Church in Georgia. The song itself has a fantastic story, which you can read here<<>>, but there is a single line in the song that drives me to hit the repeat button over and over. It is found in the 4th verse of the song,
Our savior displayed on a criminal’s cross
Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost
But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand
That’s when death was arrested and my life began
That’s when death was arrested and my life began
It is that second line that has grabbed my attention for days. “Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost”. Having studied the New Testament, we have the ability to see the whole picture, but all to often we lose the perspective that the early church and the disciples had. Jesus had three years of ministry, and at the end of this time, even His closest followers missed so much of what He taught. He was the eternal Savior, come down to earth to provide a substitutionary life for our sins. But so many in the period had expected a white knight upon a horse come to conquer the Roman world. During His ministry, Jesus spoke of His death and resurrection, we can read in Luke his teaching on the temple being torn down and rebuilt in three days. We read these words and understand the big picture, but so many missed it during His life. Think of the disciples, after Jesus’ death on the cross, they went into hiding. Many feared for their lives, it wasn’t until after the resurrection that it clicked. It was after seeing the holes in His hands that they lost their fears and because sold out missionaries for the Gospel. I think of these disciples, these men who were so close to Jesus, and still they misunderstood a major aspect of His teaching until they saw the whole picture.
This is the part of the song that grasps me. It reminds me of the scene from “The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe”. Jesus came to be our Savior and we hung Him on a criminal’s cross. This is where He died. The promised Savior of the world, killed. Did the demonic world understand the prophecy? Did they understand that this was a required step in mankind’s redemption. Or did they misunderstand it like so many others at the time. Were they rejoicing? Did they have the first and last celebration Hell has ever seen? Did they see God dead and buried. A day of celebration, a second day, and then came the third day. The stone is rolled away, death has been conquered. Death has been arrested. One third of the prophecies of Christ have to do with His resurrection, and on that third day, they all became true. The celebration that “Darkness” had been enjoying stopped. Jesus arose with our freedom, He conquered death and thus our life began.
