One Day, verse 2

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. I Peter 2:23

As I was meditating on this Independence Day and thanking God for the freedoms we have in this nation, I was also reminded of the freedom that we have in Christ. Jesus bore my sin on the cross so that I would be FREE from a life of sin resulting in death, and instead, I would be FREE to live a life of righteousness. It was Jesus, in His humble obedience to the Father, that made this possible. As we look at the second verse of this hymn, we see the price He paid to make our freedom available - it was His life.

One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain,
One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected:
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He!

You probably know this part of the story well, but I think it is valuable to stop and reflect on what it meant for Jesus to go to the cross, and what He suffered on our behalf.

Pilate gave the people several opportunities to change their mind about putting Jesus to death, but they never did. He was led up Calvary's mountain and put on a cross and crucified.

There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Luke 23:32

So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. John 19:16-18

Jesus suffered - bearing the sin of the world was not the only anguish - it was that His own friends, family and people rejected Him. The prophet Isaiah foretold this long before Jesus was even born.

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:3-4

Jesus Himself knew that this would happen and told the disciples so.

But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.” Luke 9:21-22

"Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?” Mark 12:10 (A prophecy from Psalm 118)

He was rejected. The man who God had sent to fulfill His plan for the redemption of His people was rejected by the very people He came to save! Have you been hurt by colleagues, friends or family? Do you know the sting of rejection? Be encouraged that Jesus felt this too, and because of that you can run to Him to receive comfort and strength. He can sympathize, because He's experienced the same pain.

He bore our sins on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Celebrate that freedom today!


One Day
Words by J. Wilbur Chapman

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises,
One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin,
Dwelt among men, my example is He!

Refrain
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever;
One day He's coming, O glorious day!

One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain,
One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected:
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He!

One day they left Him alone in the garden,
One day He rested, from suffering free;
Angels came down o'er His tomb to keep vigil;
Hope of the hopeless, my Savior is He!

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,
One day the skies with His glories will shine;
Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing;
Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!