When Jesus was crucified on the cross, evil men believed they were merely ending the life of someone who threatened their way of living. They were unaware that God’s plan for the cross had been established since the dawn of creation.
A. GOD DEALS WITH ALL SIN
Through the death of His Son on the Cross, the Almighty Creator, God, addressed the sins, suffering, and sorrow of every individual. Jesus took upon Himself the burdens of each person in the world. By personally accepting what He accomplished on the Cross, we find the resolution to all our needs.
1. God Reveals His Power Through The Cross
God transforms the cross from a symbol of shame and death into one of hope and redemption, showcasing His power and love through Jesus’ willing suffering. The crucifixion demonstrates God’s authority over sin and death, revealing that apparent defeat can lead to victory.
The resurrection further emphasizes the strength found in vulnerability, illustrating that divine power is perfected in weakness. This message invites believers to experience God’s transformative love, offering them strength in their own struggles through His grace.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” 1Corinthians 1:18 See also Romans 1:16.
2. God Shows His Love On The Cross
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ exemplifies God’s great love for humanity, as He endured immense suffering and took on our sins in a selfless act of redemption.
This pivotal moment reveals divine mercy and unconditional love, paving the way for reconciliation and forgiveness through His death and resurrection.
The cross symbolizes both suffering and hope, inviting us to experience the fullness of God’s grace and compassion and reminding us that His love is limitless.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8
3. God Removed Our Sorrows On The Cross
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ represents a pivotal moment where God took on man’s suffering, exemplifying love and offering redemption. Through His sacrifice, barriers of sin were removed, allowing believers to access grace and hope. This act transformed suffering into a narrative of triumph, providing healing and restoration, and revealing that deep pain can lead to joy and purpose for those who embrace faith.
“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted” Isaiah 53:4
4. Jesus Took The Punishment For Our Sins On The Cross
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed … We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” Isaiah 53:5,6 See also 1Peter 2:24.
B. NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH THE CROSS
Due to God’s complete holiness and righteousness, sin creates a barrier between us and Him. Those who harbor sin in their hearts cannot enter His presence.
Thus, by dying on the Cross, Jesus not only endured the consequences of our sins on our behalf, but He also opened the door for us to have a personal relationship with God, allowing us to experience the love, peace, and joy that comes from fellowship with Him.
1. We Become Acceptable To God Through The Cross
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” 2Corinthians 5:21
2. We Receive Forgiveness Through The Cross
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” Colossians 1:13-14 See also 1John 2:1-2.
3. We Become Members Of God’s Family Through The Cross
“Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them, brothers. He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praise’” Hebrews 2:11-12 See also John 1:12.
C. FREEDOM THROUGH THE CROSS
Jesus’ death on the Cross represents a significant victory, as it addressed our sins and consequently the suffering and misery resulting from those sins.
The Cross has won great freedom for us!
1. Freedom From Satan
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross” Colossians 2:15 See also Colossians 1:13.
2. Freedom From Past Sins
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” John 8:36 See also Colossians 2:13
3. Freedom From Present Sins
“For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” Romans 6:14
4. Freedom From Sickness
“This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and carried our sicknesses’” Matthew 8:17 See also 1 Peter 2:24.
5. Freedom From The Curse Of The Law
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’” Galatians 3:13 See also Deuteronomy 28:15-68.
6. Freedom From The Judgement
“Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement” Hebrews 9:26,27
7. Freedom From Everlasting Death
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16
D. LOVE AND JUSTICE MEET AT THE CROSS
The Cross represents the intersection of God’s love and righteous judgment, where the need for justice due to sin is fulfilled through the sacrificial death of Jesus, the Son of God, who died in our stead.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified (made just as if I’d never sinned) by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” Romans 5:8-11
E. THE CROSS IS THE CENTRE OF HISTORY
The Cross of Jesus Christ is the centre point of mankind’s existence on earth.
From the moment the first man and woman sinned, see Genesis 3, it was pre-planned by God that Jesus would die on the Cross.
From that time on, people looked forward in faith to what God promised He would do on the Cross to save them. Today we look back and, by believing in what Jesus has done for us on the Cross, receive forgiveness and new life.
Confession: Today, I fully trust in what God accomplished for me through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. I believe He bore the consequences of my sins. I accept the forgiveness that God is extending to me and express my gratitude for the relationship this creates between us. I choose to live each day in this personal connection with God and pledge to share this truth with others.
