It is Easter week.
Friday is the day that we remember the fact that Jesus died on the
cross. This method of punishment was
meant for criminals and not for an innocent, compassionate man.
The cross was presumed to be the end of a life that
touched so many. It was slow but sure
death. It was cruel and very
painful. This was a spectacle for the
entire town and region to see and be reminded to be righteous. It was not meant for Jesus. Yet God intended this day and that cross for
His son who took our place.
We sing about the cross. We read about the cross. Since the earliest memory I have of church
and Christianity the cross was said to be the most important part of our faith. Literally without a Savior, there is no
salvation. Without a way, there is no
eternal life. Without someone to take
our place, there is no way to spend forever in heaven with God. God provided the way. The way is Jesus. The instrument was the cross, but the cross
was not the end.
For
the word of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the
power of God.
But
may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
having
canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which
was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
What was it like to stand at a distance, maybe
outside the wall where you can barely see, watching Jesus on the cross? He was put on the cross in a painful and
crushing way that allowed Jesus to take our sin, our guilt and our destiny
transforming them into what God can allow in His presence.
The cross gives us a path to heaven. The cross gives us hope and truth of forgiveness
of our sin. The cross is the symbol that
reminds us that we can in no way save ourselves.
Praise God for the cross. But praise God for the empty tomb as well. Jesus died on the cross where there was
power. The power of the cross is found
in who hung and died there. The truth of
our salvation rests totally in Jesus who is alive and well because he fought
and conquered death, even the cross.
Being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross.
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