The Story That Begins in Tears
Picture a small room in Jerusalem. It’s night. Women sit or kneel together, wrapped in grief. Their friend, their Teacher, the One who gave them hope and purpose, has just been executed.
Their sobs don’t fade quickly. This is the deep kind of grief that wears you out physically but refuses to stop. And for them, the loss feels absolute: Jesus is dead, and with Him, hope seems dead too.
If the One who healed the sick, fed the hungry, walked on water, and even raised the dead could Himself die—what chance was left for anyone else?
The disciples’ fear makes sense. Death has always been the “final boss,” the last enemy. But what they couldn’t see yet is what Paul explains so clearly in Romans 5:6–11: Christ’s death was not the end of hope but the very foundation of it.
Christ’s Death Was Not a Performance
Paul begins with raw honesty:
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly… God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:6, 8)
This wasn’t theater. Jesus didn’t pretend to suffer or stage His death. He was—and is—fully God and fully man. He experienced real pain, real blood loss, real death.
And He didn’t die for the best of us. He didn’t die for the righteous or the noble. He died for sinners—for the ungodly—for His enemies.
That means He died for you. For me. For all of us who could never climb high enough on our own.
Paul names two great gifts that flow from the cross: justification and reconciliation.
Justified by His Blood
To be justified means God declares you righteous. Not because you’ve earned it, but because Jesus took your sin and gave you His righteousness in exchange. This “great exchange” means you stand before God fully forgiven and fully accepted—by grace through faith.
As the Westminster Catechism puts it:
“Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein He pardoneth all our sins and accepteth us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.”
Reconciled to God
But justification is not just a legal verdict; it’s also a restored relationship. Paul says, “while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (v.10).
We were once opposed to Him, separated by sin. Now, because of Jesus, we are welcomed as God’s children. The barrier is gone.
Peace with God is real.
Saved for the Future
If we are justified now, Paul reasons, then “much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.” The cross secures not only forgiveness in the present but safety in the future. And because Christ is risen, His life keeps us secure forever.
Joy That Cannot Be Contained
Paul doesn’t stop at justification and reconciliation. He adds one more gift: joy.
“More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (v.11)
The Christian life isn’t simply about avoiding wrath—it’s about delighting in God. Joy is the natural fruit of knowing we were loved at our worst, forgiven by grace, and secured forever by Christ’s life.
So What Does This Mean for Us?
- Drop the ladder. God didn’t wait for you to get better before He loved you. He loved you while you were still weak and sinful.
- Receive, don’t earn. Justification is a gift, not a paycheck. Faith alone is the open hand that receives it.
- Live reconciled. If God made peace with you, pursue peace with others. Forgive as you’ve been forgiven.
- Practice joy. Gratitude turns reconciliation into rejoicing. Begin and end your day by naming reasons to thank Him.
The Best News
The gospel doesn’t begin with “God loves you.” It begins with the bad news: we are sinners under God’s holy wrath. But that’s what makes the good news so astonishing:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
His death was real. His suffering was sufficient. His blood justifies. His life saves. His cross reconciles. And His Spirit fills us with joy.
This is why Christians can grieve honestly, live hopefully, and rejoice always.
