This week at our church, three other pastors and I shared the story of the cross from different perspectives.

The first one was that of Judas. Judas was pretty much “the least of the disciples.” He was always named last in the list of Jesus’ disciples, and, although his name means “praise,” he was not one to be praised. He betrayed Jesus for just 30 pieces of silver, and then he ended his life after regretting. He must have felt so guilty and discouraged after betraying Jesus with a kiss.

The second perspective was that of the Roman soldiers, specifically the centurion. He and his men were trained to torture and execute the enemies of the Roman Empire. After mocking and beating and spitting on Jesus, they crucified Him. But after Jesus yielded up His spirit, the darkness, earthquake, and tearing of the curtain in the temple caused them to reflect, “Truly this was the Son of God.” Imagine the grief and despair they felt knowing they had physically killed the Son of God.

The third perspective we talked about was that of Peter, who, although being one of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, denied Him three times the night of His betrayal. As he looked across the courtyard and stared into the face of Jesus, the shame caused him to go out and weep bitterly. After the crucifixion he went back to fishing, the thing he knew before he met Jesus, and when Jesus called to him from the shore to cast the net on the other side of the boat, he caught another miraculous amount of fish. Then he swam back to the beach to be reunited and reassured by Jesus.

The fourth perspective is our own. We all have reason to be guilty and grief-filled. Each of us have sinned and brought on the death of Jesus. He willingly took our sins on Himself so that we might have life.

But we all have opportunity for repentance and abundant life because of the resurrection of Jesus. His resurrection gives us hope. It brings forgiveness. Instead of living in death and defeat, we can now live in life and bring life to those around us.

That is what the resurrection means. Jesus takes us from death and brings us up into new life in Him.

If you’d like to watch the summary of the day, check out the video below or on YouTube.