Colossians: The Paradoxical Victory of the Cross
What appears to be Christ's greatest defeat... is actually His greatest victory and our victory too!! Paul is describing the victory scene to the Colossians.
These powers, angry at his challenge to their sovereignty, stripped him naked, held him up to public contempt, and celebrated a triumph over him. In one of his most dramatic statements of the paradox of the cross, and one moreover which shows in what physical detail Paul could envisage the horrible death Jesus had died, he declares that, on the contrary, on the cross God was stripping them naked, was holding them to public contempt, and leading them in his own triumphal procession - in Christ, the crucified Messiah. When the 'powers' had done their worst, crucifying the lord of glory incognito on the charge of blasphemy and rebellion, they have overreached themselves. He, neither blasphemer nor rebel, was in fact their rightful sovereign. They thereby exposed themselves for what they were - usurpers of the authority which was properly his. The cross therefore becomes the source of hope for all who had been held captive under their rule, enslaved in fear and mutual suspicion. Christ breaks the last hold that the 'powers' had over his people, by dying on their behalf. N.T. Wright Colossians and Philemon
Sermon discussion questions for parents to use with their children:
Who are the principalities and powers?
How do they impact the world?
Can we break free?
How are we delivered?
How did God turn the tables on the principalities upon the cross?
How was Jesus' greatest defeat His greatest victory?
What are the implications of all of this for us today?
