The cross has always been a symbol of hope for Christians. Non-Christians are often baffled by why a device that created such pain and torture would be viewed as such a significance piece of our faith.
Many criminals died on that cross. What made Jesus any different?
Well, for one, He wasn't a criminal. A rejecter of common practices? Yes. Someone who ruffled feathers wherever He went? Certainly. But not a criminal.
What's more is that not only was He not a criminal, but He was flawless.
Completely, and totally, flawless.
Completely, and totally, flawless.
The Oxford dictionary defines flawless as: without any blemishes, imperfections, mistakes, or shortcomings; perfect.
Why then, was this man hung on a cross? Why was He tortured and spit on? Why was He left to die?
Simply put: He was hung on that cross for you and me.
Yes, we have heard this story all our lives, but when was the last time we let it sink in?
The wonder of the cross is not in the cross itself, but in the One who hung on it and why.
The wonder of the cross is not in the cross itself, but in the One who hung on it and why.
Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, hung on that cross for you and me to bridge the gap between us and God.
Our sin is great, but His grace is greater! How powerful a truth; how incredible a hope!
Isaiah 53:3-9 says,
"He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave."
Our Lord was tortured and killed for us.
That really should break our hearts. Truth is, we don't deserve love anywhere near that.
However, the story did not end. If it had, there would be no hope. There would be no reason to worship this Deity who was fully God and fully man.
Had Christ not risen, we probably could have marked him off as a good man and a rather odd character who was definitely crazy (I mean, He walked around claiming to be God...).
BUT that WASN'T the end!
Three days after His death, Christ came back to life. I will discuss this more in a later post, but how awing is that?
How could a man rise from the dead? Like, He was deader than dead, but now He is alive?! What?!?!?
The cross should hold a significance for us, as Christians, because it shows the ultimate definition of love and sacrifice. It bridges that gap between God and man. No longer does man earn his salvation. No longer do we have to go through a priest or holy man to get to God. No! Christ made Himself that High priest. Now all we have to do is go through Him to get to God.
That is so huge, ya'll!
The wonder of the cross is not limited to one people group, gender, sexuality, and amount of knowledge one knows or doesn't know. The wonder of the cross bridges the gap for all people in every tribe and nation!
May we never forget the significance of the cross; may we never lose the wonder of the cross!
"The Wonder of the Cross" by Vicky Beeching
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