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Why
Did Jesus Die On The Cross?
Faith Community Church, Pipestone, MN
September 23, 2001
Galatians 6:14; But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
In our text, Paul states that he glories in the cross of Jesus Christ. To glory means to ascribe honor to, in thought or words. The Romans intended the cross to be a symbol of shame. The Roman orator and statesman, Cicero, described crucifixion as ‘the most cruel and hideous of torture.’
It is an old and useful observation, that many of the most excellent objects in the world are objects whose excellency does not appear at first view. There is nothing that the world is more divided about in its opinions than the cross of Christ. To unbelievers it is altogether contemptible; to believers it is altogether glorious. That is why believers wear the cross as an indication that they are believers in Christ. That is why the cross has become the main symbol of the Christian faith.
I. The Offense Of The Cross
The cross of Christ either draws or repels men. To one person, it is a symbol of God’s love for sinners through Jesus Christ our Lord. To another person, the cross is an offense, something to be hated, Galatians 5:11. The ‘enemies of the cross of Christ,’ Philippians 3:18, are numerous.
The Apostle Paul explains this offense of the cross. The Jews were looking for a sign or miracle from God, but not the sign of the cross. The Greeks (intellectual Gentiles) were looking for wisdom but not the wisdom of God through the cross. Paul puts it this way;
I Corinthians 1:18-25; For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
In contrast to those who are offended by the cross of Christ, the cross is the symbol of both God’s power and wisdom unto salvation for those who believe. This is why Paul gloried in the cross, because it was a sign of both God’s power and wisdom.
II. The Wisdom Of The Cross
Christians have suffered persecution for the cross of Christ, Galatians 6:12c, because it is a symbol of God’s wisdom.
A. Jesus knew that His mission led to the cross.
The cross was the central focus of Jesus’ mission. This is revealed through His first and last recorded words. When our Lord became a religious adult at His Jewish Bar Mitzvah at the age of twelve in the Temple at Jerusalem, He gave us His first recorded words; Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? Luke 2:49; cf., Luke 2:41-52. The Father’s business (will) eventually led Jesus to the cross where He spoke His final recorded words prior to His death; It is finished, John 19:30. Much of the teaching of the New Testament is concerned with explaining what happened on the cross. Repeatedly, Jesus reminded His disciples of His mission of redemption;
Matthew 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Matthew 20:17-19 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 12:32-33 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.
B. Jesus, as a mediator, was perfect for His mission at the cross.
A holy, just and loving Heavenly Father had to deal with the problem of man’s sin. Isaiah 59:2 reminds us that sin separates man from God. The broken relationship between God and man had to be restored. God took the initiative in this matter as Romans 5:8 affirms; But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The work of reconciliation could only be done through a Mediator, a Kinsman-Redeemer. A mediator is one who interposes between parties at variance for the purpose of reconciling them. According to the Gospel of Christ, Jesus is a Mediator by nature, as partaking of both natures divine and human; and He is a Mediator by office (Priestly) as transacting matters (atoning for sin) between God and man. I Timothy 2:5 says; For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
C. Jesus, as a priest, atoned for sin at the cross.
The completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross, involved these aspects;
• He was a perfect priest; Hebrews 7:26-27 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
• He was a perfect sacrifice; Hebrews 9:24-26 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
This is a demonstration of God’s wisdom through the cross of Christ.
III. The Power Of The Cross
The power of the cross is revealed through several Biblical aspects.
A. The power of the cross reveals God’s work.
Our Mediator-Messiah was God. Because Jesus was God, His work could not fail. His sacrifice had to be of infinite value. He could die for the world, I John 2:2, by dying for Adam, Romans 5:12. He bore the wrath of God redemptively so as to free mankind. He was able to apply His work on the cross to needy humanity.
B. The power of the cross reveals Christ’s deity.
The work of redemption could only be accepted if it were the work of God Himself. The Bible states that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation, II Corinthians 5:19. The acceptance of the deity of Christ is necessary for salvation. For Jesus said, Ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I Am He, ye shall die in your sins, John 8:24.
C. The power of the cross reveals the Gospel of Christ.
The Gospel of Christ is the message of God’s love for us through Jesus Christ.
• The Gospel is the Good News of God’s love; For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, John 3:16.
• The Gospel is the Good News of Christ’s work; For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures, I Corinthians 15:3-4.
• The Gospel is the Good News of personal salvation; For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith, Romans 1:16-17.
Life Application
The cross is the believer’s Spes unica (one hope) for salvation! Salvation is received as a free gift with faith through God’s grace, Ephesians 2:8-9. When you receive Christ as Savior through faith, you will experience the power of the cross. If you are unsure about whether you have ever believed in Jesus, here is a prayer that you can pray as a way of starting the Christian life and receiving all the benefits that Christ died to make possible.
Heavenly Father, I am sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life.
[Take a few moments to ask His forgiveness for anything particular that is on your conscience.]
Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong.
Thank You that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.
From now on I will follow and obey Him as Lord.
Thank You that You now offer me this gift of forgiveness and Your Spirit. I now receive that gift.
Please come into my life by Your Holy Spirit to be with me forever.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen