Between the Powers

His cross wasn’t just between two thieves; it was between two powers. The imperial power of Rome and the institutional power of the Temple stood on either side, with Jesus caught between them.

The Romans were devoted to their empire and its so-called peace, the Pax Romana. The religious leaders were devoted to their place in the religious hierarchy and the purity of their law. Both powers sought control—Rome through its legions, the Temple through its traditions. And Jesus, standing between them, disrupted both.

But Jesus did not meet them on their terms. He did not raise an army or seek political revolution. He did not take up the sword of Rome or wield the legal authority of the Sanhedrin. Instead, He let the powers do their worst to Him.

He absorbed their violence. He took the full weight of their dominion—Rome’s brutality, the Temple’s self-righteousness—and bore it to the end. And in doing so, He exposed them.

This is what Paul meant when he said Jesus "disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Col. 2:15). Their power—their control through fear, violence, and exclusion—was revealed as empty. The cross did not confirm their rule. It dismantled it.

Jesus did not overcome the powers by playing their game. He overcame them through love. He did not conquer by killing, but by dying. He did not reign through force, but through sacrifice. And in His resurrection, He proved that their power was always fleeting. Rome would fall. The Temple would fall. But the Kingdom of God would rise. Even the power of Hades could not stand against it.

Today, we still find ourselves caught between powers. Nations demand our allegiance. Institutions seek our compliance. Ideologies try to shape our devotion. And yet, Jesus still stands between them, calling us to a different way—not the way of domination, but the way of sacrificial love. Don't devote yourself to them. Take up your cross and follow Jesus.

The cross is not just where Jesus died. It is where the powers of this world were unmasked. It is where we see the truth: Only one Kingdom endures. Only one King is truly worthy. And only one power is strong enough to save. We are not conquerors. We are more than conquerors. We are ambassadors of the Crucified King.

We don't operate within the power of the powers. We operate in something different.

The power of sacrificial love. The power of the cross. By the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.