Rescue Mission

Pastor Jeffrey Smith

On Palm Sunday, the week before Easter and Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, symbolizing His coming as king and savior. On that day Jesus was praised as all the people shouted “Hosanna!” believing Him to be their earthly savior. However, things quickly took a turn as five days later Jesus was beaten and hung on a cross, taking on our sin as His own. 

The people saw Jesus and heard His words, but when He was crucified and died on the cross, doubt settled in. For three days the world was shrouded in darkness; Jesus experienced the wrath of God and took on our sin in order to become sin on the cross—it was the wrath meant for us. 

The wrath of God that Jesus experienced on the cross was even greater than the physical torture that He experienced, but after his death came the resurrection, and through the resurrection Jesus brought hope into the darkness. 

The resurrection is not just an event, it’s a person and His name is Jesus. Jesus became the resurrection so He could go out and find people who are in broken, fearful, and doubtful situations in order to bring hope to their brokenness. 

The resurrection is a rescue mission; it finds us in our sin, our brokenness, in our disappointment, in our fear and doubt, and rescues us there. Acknowledging Jesus’ resurrection is acknowledging His position and authority as Savior and King. Jesus knew what it felt like to be forsaken on the cross, but He also knew it was the only way He could bring redemption to His people. By first experiencing those things Himself, it allowed Him to meet us in the middle of our brokenness and bring hope to us there.