A Sure Thing

The average human head weighs between 8 and 12 pounds.  A full grown male would be on the high end of that range, so we might presume that the head of a man like Goliath would twirl the scales up to at least, say, 16 pounds, sans helmet.  It's not a lot of weight, but think about hoisting a really heavy bag of groceries over your head, the way David might have hoisted Goliath's severed head in the air. (Or maybe groceries and severed heads shouldn't be simultaneously considered...) This was David's signal to both the Israelites and the Philistines that this giant was not just out cold from a concussion, but was indeed and truly dead.

At that moment, as Goliath's gory mug was lifted up, fear, doubt and dread lifted from the Israelite camp and flew to the opposite hillside, sending the Philistine forces running in panic.  An unlikely champion had shown his mettle in a decisive victory and his triumph was now the triumph of all Israel.

In the very same way, the unlikely hero Jesus of Nazareth dispatched once, for all, and forever the foes of death, hell and the grave when he surrendered himself to be lifted up on the cross, bloodied and (momentarily) defeated.  The cross is our sign of sure and certain victory, and no fear or dread should ever become a stationary shadow over the life of a believer since the Shepherd King Jesus has secured our freedom.  His bloodied figure is our reminder that death has died and the empty tomb our assurance that we will share in His resurrection.