#DailyDevotion Jesus Is The Lord Who Won Our Victory
Easter Monday
Read Ex 15:1–18
Exo 15:1-2 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. (2) The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
This victory song recounts in poetic fashion what the Lord had just accomplished and it prophecies what is yet to come. The Lord had rescued the Israelites from the hands of Pharaoh and his army. He did it in a fabulous manner parting the seas and then drowning them in those same seas. For the moment they recognize the might of the Lord sing of his strength. They proclaim the Lord’s salvation. They even recognize that the Lord is not new to Israel but he is their father’s God. The song prophecies how they will take the land of Canaan and the Lord will set up his sanctuary there.
But the singing will be short lived. They will harden their hearts against the Lord and against Moses. They will be fickle and forget all of the Lord’s mighty deeds and they will fall into sin.
This same Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ. We sing his praise this Eastertide. For Jesus has won for us, for all people, even a greater victory over Satan. By his death on the cross Jesus atoned for the sin of the World. He swallowed up death in his death. Sin no longer has its hold on us like it once did so Satan has lost his power. By his resurrection, Jesus has manifested his victory over sin, death and the devil. His victory is our victory.
Jesus, as he killed Israel’s enemy, Pharaoh and his armies, in the flood has another flood in which we may participate in his victory over sin, death and Satan. That is in baptism. St. Paul writes, Rom 6:3-5 “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (4) We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
The flood waters of baptism are our participation in Jesus’ victory. There our sin is drowned and buried. There we are given eternal life. There we are given the promise that our bodies, like Jesus’ body will be raised from the dead on the last day and we too, like the Israelites will enter the promise land of the new heavens and new earth. Now that’s something to sing about.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are mighty and glorious. You have overcome our sin, death, the grave and Satan. Give us faith that we may ever sing your glorious praise and your victory which you share with us in baptism. In your precious name we pray. Amen.