Why the Cross?
The cross is at the center of all Christianity. It was while our Lord Jesus Christ hung on the cross that our sins were forgiven. This wasn’t an easy task for Him, but He did it willingly, because He loves us and it was the will of His father. The Lamb of God, who knew no sin, had to take on all the sins of the world.
Even as an youth, Jesus lived in the shadow of the cross. He knew He was born to die. And die He did - for all mankind to be saved.
Let’s read:
1 Pet 3:18
18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
(NIV)
When we sin, we sin against God and only God can forgive our sins. How does God forgive sins? He must do it with a substitute. Jesus Christ was that substitute, the perfect Lamb of God.
Let’s read:
1 Pet 1:15-21
15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
(NIV)
Do you know where the Passover lambs were bred? In Bethlehem. When the angels came to the shepherds, to announce Jesus’ birth, they were probably watching over the lambs that were being kept for the Passover. It was the blood of the Passover lamb that saved the 1st born of the Israelites in Egypt. Several years later when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that donkey through the Eastern Gate, it was 4 days before the Passover. At the same time the lambs for the Passover were entering Jerusalem through the sheep gate. During the preparation for Passover, the lambs had to be set apart for 4 days and inspected by the Priests to ensure that they were without blemish and perfect. At the same time that the lambs were being examined, the Lamb of God was being interrogated to find some flaw in Him. Even Pilate had to admit "I find no fault in Him."
At three o’clock in the afternoon on the day of Passover, the priest lifted the heads of the sacrificial lambs and killed them. At the same time on Mount Calvary, Roman soldiers nailed the perfect Lamb of God to the cross. This is the same mountain where Abraham was led by God to sacrifice his only son. When the Priest sacrificed the lambs, they were not to break any bones of the lambs. When the Roman soldiers came to make sure the ones hanging on the cross were dead, they broke the legs of the two thieves, but seeing that Jesus was already dead, they did not break any of His bones. All of these happenings did not happen by chance. It is all a part of a plan by a holy, gracious and loving God. God, who gave His only Son, as a sacrificial lamb for our sins, loves us so much that He wanted us to have eternal life with Him. A God who loves us so much that He doesn’t want any to perish.
Jesus knew that He had to suffer and die on that wooden cross, but it did cause Him emotional suffering.
Let’s read:
Luke 22:41-44
41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed,
42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.
44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
(NIV)
Jesus wanted the will of God, but He knew the suffering that He must endure, both physically and emotionally. He knew the physical pain would be great, but what troubled Him the most was the emotional pain that He would have to experience. Can you imagine a righteous, perfect person without any sin ever in their life, having to take on all the sin in the world from the beginning of time to the end of time. When I sin, I feel terrible. My self-esteem is at rock bottom low. I hate myself for giving in to sin. If I feel this way with my occasional sin, how do you think Jesus felt, not knowing sin and all of a sudden taking on all the sin ever committed by everyone in the world since creation?
Sometimes people picture Jesus strolling to the cross, being nailed to it and dying without pain or suffering. This isn’t true. Jesus felt pain, both emotionally and physically. But this was nothing compared to the pain that He endured when He took on our sins and His Father having to look away from His Son hanging on that cross because Jesus had the sins of the whole world upon Him. A righteous God could not look upon these sins and upon His Son. When Jesus was hanging on the cross it became dark and Jesus cried out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" This had to be the greatest pain of all and we caused it with our sins. How would you feel if your Dad told you that He could not stand to look at you? It would hurt deeply. Jesus was hurt too and we need to remember that we were the cause. Jesus could have came down from that cross, but He didn’t. This proves how very much He loves us and wants us to have eternal life with Him in Heaven. We all crave to be loved unconditionally by our parents, spouse, children and friends. Jesus has that love for us and He laid down His life and took it up again so that we could have eternal life.
Jesus said in:
John 15:13-14
13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
(NIV)
Jesus laid down His life because He has the greatest love for us. He also wants us to be indebted to Him by obeying His command.
If someone pushed you out of the way of an oncoming car and saves your life, you would be indebted to them for life. We should feel the same way toward Christ. He saved our lives and we are indebted to Him. He snatched us up from a destiny of eternal suffering in hell and gave us eternal life with Him in Heaven. We should be so grateful for what He did that we would live a righteous life. Our first and foremost concern should be for Him. All that we do should show the light of Jesus Christ in our lives. We should be shouting the Good News from every mountaintop. We need to be telling everyone who doesn’t know Christ, what He did in our lives. He took a terrible sinner like me and through His blood, He washed me clean and made me righteous in the eyes of God. For this you and I should be living the most righteous lives that we can. Sure we will stumble from time to time, but call out to Jesus and He will be there to pick us up. Ask for forgiveness and try not to stumble any more.
Paul tells us in Romans, that if we keep sinning, then we continue to crucify Christ on that cross. That is another sin that He had to take on while He was hanging on the cross. Open your heart and let Jesus come in. Through Him you can live a righteous life. That is if you let Him lead you down the path of righteousness. Stop trying to control the circumstances in your life and turn it over to Christ. He is much better qualified than we are. If He can create this world and keep it running in perfect order, then I think He can run our lives better than we can. Abide in Him. Seek his face, long to talk with Him, read His word, praise Him, worship Him and let Christ into your lives today.
If you have sin in your life, repent and ask for forgiveness. You may be thinking that my sin isn’t as bad as my neighbor’s sin. The sin of telling a so call white lie is just as bad as the sin of adultery, murder or homosexuality in God’s eyes. Sin is sin and we are not to justify it by comparing it to someone else’s sin. If there had been no other sin in the world except for the little white lie that you told last year, Christ still would have gone to the cross for you and suffered everything that we have talked about today. Do you feel guilty yet? I hope so. Stop the sin in your lives and live a life that will honor Christ and show others the light of Jesus Christ in you. If you know Jesus has your Savior, you have been born again. Now we need to start living like it.
As we stand, everyone bow your heads and close your eyes. Tell God that you acknowledge that you have a particular sin in your life and that you want His forgiveness and that you will turn away from that sin with His help. Be honest with God for He knows your heart.
If you don’t know this Jesus that we have been talking about, you need to know that He died for you too. He is calling, all you have to do is answer and accept His love and accept Him as your Savior. Repent and ask forgiveness for your sins and He will change your life. Come now for His gift of eternal life.
