This is one of the great paintings from the Reformation. Notice Christ on the cross being lifted up and put in place. Notice the man at the foot of the cross wearing the beret. That is Rembrandt. He is putting Christ up on the cross. He is putting it in place.
What is Rembrandt saying in this painting? What is his message? He is saying I put Christ on that cross. My sins put him up there. Rembrandt has recognized and painted the essential truth. It is and was our sins that put Christ on the cross. He went there to die for us, for you and me, to cover our sins.
Because he lives – because he died the way he did and then rose from the dead - Jesus has earned for each true believer in him eternal life with him and his father. He has earned forgiveness for each of us. He overcame the world, and in him we do too. Jesus did so many things I have written about before, but this is the key one – he reconciled human beings to God. He took our sins upon himself and removed that unsolvable burden. He gave us our lives again.
Copyright © 2021 by John Newlin
KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS!
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