There is an essential irony in this verse. It is essential in that it touches the very essence and fabric of reality. It is a state of affairs that is woven into the very fibers of existence. “Evil will slay the wicked.” (Psalm 34:21 NIV) Evil is self-consuming. The evilness of that which is evil is the agent of its own destruction.
The cross of Christ is the supreme expression of this truth. Crucifixion was in itself a profoundly evil act of human cruelty and degradation. The crucifixion of an innocent man was an aggravated form of this profound evil. The crucifixion of the sinless, incarnate Son of God. . . this was evil in its most egregious and ultimate form. This extraordinary act of gross evil became the ultimate instrument for the destruction of evil itself. Our God turns the evilness of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ back on itself, and so through this very act of the powers of darkness, our God redeems the world. “Evil with slay the wicked.”
© 2019 Gary A. Chorpenning; all rights reserved.
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