Hebrews 10:10-14
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Romans 5:18-21
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Each year at Easter I find myself reflecting on the crucifixion and the cross. I read those passages in Isaiah and Psalms that describe the agony of what Jesus endured, the intense pain of the physical wounds and their effects, the shame of it all, the mocking and scorn that was directed at Him, and I try to imagine the unimaginable amount of suffering that He must have experienced. I look at the Gospel accounts and see the unjustness of it all, the scheming of the Pharisees, the cowardly relenting of Pilate, the disciples who fled and denied, the crowds who watched with glee, the soldiers who hammered the nails and gambled for His clothes, and then the women watching afar off, weeping and hopeless as His body is laid in a tomb.

But this year I find myself thinking of the power of those moments and what Christ accomplished in that wounded and weakened human body. It was the one and only sacrifice needed, the only one God would accept, to take away every sin of every person for all time. Just that one was all that was required so every sinner who ever lived, past, present, and future, could have their sins forgiven, could be made righteous in God’s sight, reconciled to the Father and thus granted eternal life. Usually in this life one is not enough. One dollar won’t get us much. One minute is not long enough. One act is not enough. One person is not enough. But Jesus was, and He is, ever and always, enough. All-sufficient in and of Himself. He alone pays the price, makes the sacrifice, gives His life willingly, and rises again in power from the grave in the ultimate victory over those things that scare us most—the grave and death and hell.

Christ walked the earth one time. He died one time. He rose one time. And now people everywhere have hope for all time. That’s a powerful act, a powerful accomplishment, a powerful love, a powerful God. Let us rejoice that one was enough. That once was enough. And it didn’t have to be you and me to make that sacrifice, because Christ is all and in all. Through Him, we are free, and it’s something we could have never even hoped to attain on our own. He gives us so much through that one dark day that was appointed for Him before the foundation of the world—forgiveness and life and peace and hope for something greater beyond this world and our lives here.