coming to life

Colossians 2:13-15

The key words: uncircumcision, sinful nature. This passage contains the themes of death and life, debt and forgiveness, condemnation and justification. It also contains the image of a Roman victory parade where the defeated enemy is marched, weaponless and in disgrace, before the cheering crowds. The enemy in this case are the spiritual powers and authourities.
There is a significant surprise contained in this passage using the cross. The cross was the symbol of the justice and might of Rome. It was to put the condemned prisoner on public spectacle both so he could be ridiculed and shamed but also to inspire good behaviour on the part of the people (behave yourself or this could happen to you). While terrible, it was also just (in the Roman view). Here, Paul turns that all upside down - Jesus died, in a travesty of justice, on the very thing that was supposed to symbolize justice. If justice was to be truly served, it would be you and I that would die but here the cross is turned into a symbol of grace. Even further, Christ takes what was supposed to be a way of making a public spectacle of him and turns it in order to make a public spectacle of those forces opposed to him. I'm sure the impact is lost in this culture but in the culture to which Paul was writing this would have been huge (especially as they likely would have still seen people exposed to public spectacle on these instruments of justice).
The application is obvious and great- I am free from the debt of sin. I am made alive in Christ (through his death and resurrection) and I need to live out this freedom and life.