Gordon's WebLog

When we look at the cross it is easy for us to become preoccupied with the details of the agony and the bloodshed, the mocking crowd and the darkened skies. And whilst we should never forget what was done to Jesus the significance of the cross lies, not in what men did to Christ, but what Christ did for men.

But was it really necessary for Christ to go through all that torment ? Was it really necessary for him to suffer abandonment by his friends ? Was it really necessary for the people to turn against him, shrieking for his blood ? Was it really necessary for him to be rejected by the religious leaders of the day ? Was it really necessary for him to be betrayed by one of his very own disciples ? Was it really necessary for him to die in such an ignominious way ?

Yes, it most certainly was necessary. And I say that, not on my own authority, but on the authority of the revealed word of God as found in the bible. Yes, it was necessary for Christ to suffer all those terrible things, for only by suffering could he enter into his glory.

1) The cross was necessary to reveal God's evaluation of human life.

In Christ's day life was held very cheaply. Unwanted children simply disappeared, a slave could be killed by his master and no questions were asked. Despots like Emperor Nero lit their gardens with human torches.

But life is NOT cheap. In God's eye life is supremely valuable. The death of Christ demonstrates this, for God was even willing for his own son to die to save it.

2) The cross was necessary to reveal the very essence of God's character.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins" says the write of John's gospel, and Paul tells us that "God commendeth himself to us in that, whilst we were yet sinners, Christ died for us".

The cross reveals God, not as a vengeful God, nor as a despotic ruler, but as a God who was willing to die for his children, as a loving shepherd taking the trail of suffering and death to find the lost sheep.

3) The cross was necessary to reveal God's estimate of sin.

Only when we look at the love displayed on the cross can we begin to imagine how truly terrible sin is in God's eye. Sin that takes a sinless Jesus strips him, beats him, mocks him, pierces his hands and feet with nails, and then sits at the soot of the cross mocking him in his death agonies. THAT is how terrible sin is.

YES, it is certain that Jesus could have avoided the confrontation with the chief priests, he could easily have run away from the imminent trail and crucifixion, but could we ever worship a God who was such a coward ? Could we ever entrust to a God like that our love and adoration ? NO, I say again NO.

We are only able to worship our God, we are only able to give to him our adoration, our praise, our lives, BECAUSE he showed how much he loved us by dieing for us.

There, on a cruel cross of wood, pierced by great nails through his hands and feet, the son of God died in agony to show how much God loved us. "God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that, whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life".

We can entrust our lives to the safekeeping of God simply because we know that, whatever befalls us, Jesus has trodden this earth before us. He has experienced all the trials and tribulations that we suffer. He knows how we feel, for he has experienced all the emotions that we experience. He understands our fears, for he went through all the horrors of loneliness that we suffer.

The cross was NOT an accident of history, it was NOT an afterthought on the part of God. It was God's plan right from the dawn of history. When mankind slipped into sin God was ready, his plan was already made. The cross was conceived and formulated in the heart and mind of a loving God. It was to be a symbol of our resistance and rebellion, but it was also to be a symbol of God's love and care.

We will never fully understand the mystery of the cross, but we will not go far wrong if we remember that GOD did it. The cross was the result of the treachery of Judas, of the blindness and jealousy of the high priests, of the human fears of the Roman governor, yest it was GOD'S work.

It is only when we see God, in his mercy, taking our place that we see ourselves as we are, in all our poverty and nakedness, our sinfulness and wickedness.

The cross stands with open arms to welcome every sinful soul. It is the door through which the father welcomes the prodigal back into the family and home.

On the cross love goes beyond all human reason. On the cross love convinces beyond all argument. On the cross love brings home the truth to us until, all doubts and questions silenced, we only want to worship and adore.