THE CROSS EXPLAINED
You have seen why Jesus had to die.
Now you must look at the cross itself.
NOT SOFT.
NOT SYMBOLIC.
THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING.
The cross was a real execution in human history. It was designed to be slow, public, and intensely painful.
“Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.”
“And twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head… and they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.”
He was not treated with dignity. He was rejected. He was humiliated.
“He was despised and rejected by men… and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised… his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance.”
BEARING THE WEIGHT OF SIN
The physical torture was horrific, but it was not the deepest agony.
An invisible, cosmic transfer was taking place.
On the cross, Jesus was bearing sin.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.”
“The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Your sin was placed on Him.
[ X ] NOT PARTLY.
[ X ] NOT SYMBOLICALLY.
FULLY.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin.”
The innocent was treated as guilty.
So the guilty could be treated as righteous.
THIS IS SUBSTITUTION. HE TOOK YOUR PLACE.
THE WRATH OF GOD
There is a darkness here that goes beyond physical death. On the cross, Jesus stood directly under the judgment of God.
“It was the will of the Lord to crush him.”
God’s holy justice against human rebellion was not ignored. It was poured out.
“God… condemned sin in the flesh.”
Sin was judged. Not in us. In Him.
For the first time in eternity, the Son was forsaken by the Father. He endured the unmitigated wrath of God so you would never have to. This is why He cried out:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”
JUSTICE SATISFIED
At the cross, God did not compromise His justice to show His love. He satisfied His justice through His love.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Justice was satisfied. Love was demonstrated.
The payment for sin was made in full.
“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”
/// ONE SACRIFICE.
/// FOR ALL TIME.
/// NOTHING NEEDS TO BE ADDED.
IT IS FINISHED
This is why, just before He died, Jesus declared the greatest victory in human history:
“It is finished.”
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
Because of the blood shed on the cross:
“God made you alive… having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us… nailing it to the cross.”
The record was canceled. Not ignored. Nulled completely.
DO NOT TREAT THIS LIGHTLY.
Do not reduce the cross to a symbol or a piece of jewelry. Do not move past it quickly.
This is where sin was judged.
This is where justice was satisfied.
This is where your forgiveness became possible.
If you understand the cross, you understand what was done for you.