Disarmed. Colossians 2:15. The charges were laid lawfully, and each charge had the right to demand full restitution so that each forgiven soul would shine brightly in the light of redeeming grace. Death was present, insisting that it, too, had claims to be fulfilled. Its wages demanded death for sin. The One with the keys of life and death had surrendered His perfect life by His own choice. Death wanted to take that key from His hand, but Death was defeated when He laid down His own life and, three days later, took it back again.
I could not pay those charges myself; they were far more than I could afford. So, the Lord Jesus Himself came down from heaven to remove all those sins and “wipe the slate clean.” “He suffered for sin, the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God.” When He declared His work was finished, sin could not say a word, death had been defeated, and Satan's power was destroyed so that He no longer had dominion over those who belong to Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ didn't carry out the work of redemption secretly; the event was public so everyone could see what happened when He bore our sins on the cross. He disarmed every opposing enemy openly. The group of those who opposed Him gathered to make their personal claims against us. So, the Lord dealt with each one completely by the authority of His name. Sin demanded not just a pound of flesh, but that the sinner must die for his sins. When Jesus was lifted on Calvary's cross, God placed my iniquities on Christ. Instead of death overtaking Him and claiming victory, He intentionally laid down His life of His own accord. By His authority, every principality and power at the cross was disarmed by the Lord Jesus.
Those who held our sins over us as a threat to blackmail us have nothing now with which to charge us. The burden that once burdened us—an unfulfilled law creating barriers to our peace, happiness, and comfort—is no longer an obstacle between cultures, God, and man. Those "principalities and powers" disarmed by the public death of Christ have been made a spectacle, along with all the traditions that make people feel good about themselves. The victory of the cross, centered on the preeminent One, endures today as a victory for us. The message of the cross remains relevant to every person's needs now.