Absolute defeat turned out to be the greatest victory of all. And this has implications far beyond the here and now: in order not to die, one must live for it. The Chief Apostle explained what this means in a divine service in Australia.
The sermon in Melbourne on Good Friday, 18 April 2025, was based on one of Paul’s statements that need further explanation: “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5: 15)
The biggest defeat of all time?
From a human point of view, Christ’s death on the cross was a terrible failure, a complete defeat, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider conceded. Because Jesus, who had the power to perform miracles, was arrested without any resistance, and was condemned and executed. God did not intervene. And Jesus thought He knew God’s true will. He who preached love and wanted to give eternal life had to die alone and abandoned.
Nevertheless, “With His death, Jesus Christ won a great victory. But this victory was an eternal one, not a visible one,” the Chief Apostle emphasised. “Even when He was dying, He trusted God. He loved Him, and He loved humankind to the end.” And that is why God gave him the ultimate victory, and that became visible: He raised Him from the dead.
“What does that mean for us today?” was the question.
Death as triumph
Today, it seems as if the world is dominated by evil, the Chief Apostle said, summarising the failures. Even believers are not spared suffering. We are waiting for the return of the Lord, and the Lord has still not come. More and more people are turning away from Jesus, he said. And the good that is done does not seem to bear fruit.
But Jesus’ victory is much greater: with His sacrifice, He reopened access to God for all of humankind. The people Jesus interacted with in life and the manner of His death—as if He were one of the worst criminals—show that God was on the side of every human being. As Jesus had rejected all temptations, He would be able to help all human beings in doing the same. And finally, Jesus died for all of humankind, including those who commit injustices while believing themselves to be in the right, or those who turn their backs on God completely.
“What matters is what happens in our hearts—our internal, invisible victory,” the Chief Apostle said.
When victory becomes visible
“Let us remain faithful, trust in God, and love to the end,” he added. “And those who win this victory in their hearts will one day see their victory become visible in the first resurrection.”
“Now that’s our part,” the Chief Apostle said. Let us live for Jesus because we believe and know that He died for us.” And that means
- giving the sacrifice of Jesus Christ the respect it deserves by taking our own salvation seriously: not trivialising sin, taking our mistakes seriously, and being determined to align ourselves with God’s will.
- serving Christ out of gratitude: doing good in order to be blessed is the wrong motivation. Rather, “We do good because God did good to us. That is the right motivation.”
- doing good without expecting a reward: “This is part of the test for all those who want to be part of the bride of Christ. Do you persevere or do you give up because there is no result, no visible blessing.”
- wanting to become like Jesus: “That is not just an image or a slogan. We want our soul, our heart, our person, to become like Him, that His nature becomes our nature.”
- longing for eternal fellowship: “That is the most important thing in our lives. We want to become like Him, we want to be with Him, and we patiently wait until He comes.”
Photo: NAC Australia
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