“When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!””
Matthew 27:29

I recently released a new song entitled “Curse Reversed (It Is Finished)” and I just wanted to share a bit about it and where it came from. It’s a declaration of praise proclaiming the fullness of what Jesus did for us at the cross. It’s vital for us to keep the melodies of truth in our mouths while falsehood and fear are filling the world. Not only is it the same theme of the new song in heaven, it’s an anthem you can sing in the here and now, giving God the glory due His name and receiving of His finished work.

The chorus says this:

“Every curse reversed by the finished work of the cross
Every stain washed away by the mercy You poured out
Broken bodies are healed by the stripes that You bore
Hallelujah, hallelujah!”

It comes from the meaning within the Greek word “sozo.” Sozo is one of the words behind our English translations of “saved”, “healed”, and the idea of deliverance. It’s a supernatural move of God to free us from sin, sickness, and the devil!

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (sozo).”
Acts 4:12

“When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed (sozo).”
Mark 5:27-28 (NIV)

“Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured (sozo).”
Luke 8:36 (NIV)

I love how Bill Johnson noted in the book “The Essential Guide to Healing”* that sozo means “the forgiveness of sins, the healing of disease and the deliverance from torment.” It is the essential need of every human being! This is what Jesus paid for at the cross when He gave His life!

Let’s look at it a little closer—

1. Saved

The most important aspect of sozo is salvation! Salvation is the greatest gift and greatest miracle. The fact that God gave us mercy, provided a way for our sins to be forgiven, and we get to stand in His presence with confidence—that’s truly astounding.

I remember going to do a service, and the Lord had prompted me to pray. I grabbed hands with my wife and immediately saw a vision of people falling off a cliff and me grabbing them by the hand and rescuing them from falling. 

I knew the Lord was telling me the gravity of the situation I was walking into. If people don’t receive the free gift of salvation from Jesus, they’ll live forever separated from God. I honestly couldn’t stop crying and felt the heart of God for people. He really loves people and wants no one to perish.

The people falling were the people I was about to minister to and me grabbing them and rescuing them represented me preaching the gospel. I know that I’m not the Savior, but how can they believe unless they hear the gospel!

I went and preached the gospel and people prayed to accept Jesus. It was powerful. But I’ll never forget that image and what I felt in that moment.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23

He forgives our sins. He brings us to life. He gives us a home in heaven. 

One thing no one will escape from is death. But the good news is, for those who put their faith in Jesus, death is just a temporary transition to everlasting life.

2. Healed

Sozo also means “to make well, heal, restore to health.” 

This is what the woman with the issue of blood was expecting to happen when she touched Jesus’ garment. It’s also what Isaiah prophesied when he said: “...And by His stripes we are healed.” (Is. 53:5)

When Jesus took the blows and beating to His body, shed His blood, and was nailed to the cross—He did it for your healing. His body was broken so yours could be made whole.

Physical healing is included in sozo.

3. Delivered

Sozo is the root word for another Greek word “soteria”. Soteria is the word for salvation, and it means deliverance from the harassment of your enemies.

When Jesus shed His blood, He paid for you to be free from the harassment of your enemies—and that includes evil spirits, curses, fear, guilt, shame, torment, and the like. This is why when the man with a legion of demons was set free, scripture said he experienced sozo.

It’s interesting to note that after after the flood and after the waters subsided, Noah’s ark had landed on the mountains of Ararat (Gen. 8:4). The name Ararat means “the curse reversed.” Once the wrath had passed, the curse was reversed!

It’s a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do at the cross!

There was a curse on the ground because of sin, and that curse caused the ground to produce thorns and thistles (Gen. 3:18). So when Jesus went to the cross, He wore a crown of thorns—showing He took the curse upon Himself to reverse it. And that’s what He did!

Furthermore, Galatians 3:13 NLT says, “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

All of this, and MUCH more, is included in what Jesus did for us at the cross.

As we come into the season where we celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection, let’s remind ourselves once again how great a salvation we have!

Now you have a new song to proclaim it with—
From the cross, to the tomb, the resurrection, to the ascension—Jesus won the victory for us to be saved, healed, delivered!

“Glory, glory, hallelujah
All praise belongs to You!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!”

Question: What are you most grateful for when you think of the Cross of Christ? Comment below!

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