The Cross

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.” (Hebrews 12:2)

On Friday Morning almost 2,000 years ago, the day before the Passover celebration, in a backwater colony of the Roman Empire, a group of Roman soldiers led Jesus, weakened and bloodied by a night of beating and rough treatment, to a hill next to a garbage dump outside the city gates. There he was nailed to a rough hewn cross and sharp spikes were driven through his wrists and feet holding him in place. His cross was lifted up breaking the Jerusalem sky that day. Nailed to that cross was the incarnate God among us, crucified between two criminals (Mark 15:22-27).

The remarkable thing about this crucifixion was Jesus chose the cross for Himself. he passed on every opportunity to be spared from this agonizing death. This cross was the very reason He came to earth. Its shadow had always been a part of His life, even in the manger where He was born. He had come to give His life as a ransom for many. The Bible tells us that in a very real way Jesus carried the weight of our sin of all humanity for all time on Himself when He was lifted up on that cross (Galatians 3:13). He bore the crucifixion as a man, without the use of any of the privileges of deity that might have lessened His suffering.

Just the night before, He had prayed by Himself and asked His Father in heaven if there was any other way His mission could be accomplished. Could there be any other way these people might be delivered from their sin and have eternal life in heaven? He asked His Father if there was any that that He could be spared of the cross (Matthew 26:39). There was no other way. And so He submitted Himself to the suffering and shame of the cross.

When you start to think about whether or not there are other ways to heaven besides faith in Christ, think about what your answer says about the cross of Christ. If there are other ways to heaven, then the cross was unnecessary - even foolish (Galatians 2:21). What does it say about His Heavenly Father if He would let Jesus go through such suffering when another way would have sufficed? The cross stands as the single most unique marker in human history, without parallel or comparison to other historic events.

The cross stands alone.

The cross did not defeat Jesus. He was resurrected on the third day after his death and burial. His resurrection fulfilled prophesies given through the prophets of Israel hundreds of years earlier. It was proof of His deity and evidence of His power over death. The resurrection of Christ is so we know there is life (after our lives on earth are over) for those of us who follow Him (1 Corinthians 15:20)