Waterlooand the Crucifixion
On June 18, 1815, the 68,000-man British army, commandedby Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington went up against Napoleon Bonaparte, self-proclaimed emperorof France and his army 72,000 troops near the village of Waterloo. The Brits hadeverything on the line in this battle. If they defeated Napoleon, it would bean end to his reign of terror; but if they lost, Great Britain would become yetone more European country taken over by Napoleon. Knowing the entire countrywas anxiously waiting, the army devised a system to communicate the results ofthe battle as quickly as possible. A man was situated in a boat off of theshore of Waterloo. When he saw the results of the battle, he was to signal aman in a church tower who would signal someone else, who would signal someoneelse, and on and on until the results reached the people of Great Britain. Whenthe battle was over, the man in the boat was able to signal 2 words before aheavy fog rolled in, “Wellington Defeated.” This message was passed on down theline until it reached the people of Great Britain. The Brits were devastated.They had put all of their hope in the Duke of Wellington, and he was defeated. Whathope was there for them now?! Three hours later, though, the fog cleared andthe man in the boat was able to get the rest of his message through, “WellingtonDefeated the Enemy.” As the completed message was passed on, you can imaginethe joy and elation the people of Great Britain felt! History says Napoleonrode away from the battle crying.
WhenJesus died on the cross on Good Friday, it was like Waterloo for His followers.They had put all of their hope in Jesus, and now the message they received was “JesusDefeated.” I can’t imagine the devastation and hopeless they felt that Fridayand Saturday. But on the third day, the fog rolled out and they were able toget the complete message – “Jesus Defeated the Enemy!” Can you imagine theelation and relief they felt?!
Many of us have had timeswhere we have felt devastated by circumstances in our lives, maybe some of youare going through something right now. While we are not minimizing the pain youmay be experiencing, you are not without hope; you are not stuck in GoodFriday. We have the complete message – Jesus has defeated Satan, Sin, and Death!If we belong to Him, His victory is ours! As 2 Corinthians 4: 6 – 9 tells us, ”For God, who said, “Let light shineout of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of theknowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.Butwe have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassingpower belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way,but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted,but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
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