The Gift of the Cross

We are in the midst of the week of Passion, the week leading up to Christ’s Resurrection and of course, the week which includes the day of His crucifixion. This time is a reminder of the sheer passion the Father and the Son had for man, and still have…a time when Father gave up His one and only Son to an insufferable death on a cruel cross, so that you and I don’t have to experience such punishment, even though it is exactly what we deserve.

“He was handed over to die because of our sins…” – Romans 4:25 (NLT)

Jesus Christ did not deserve this punishment because, unlike us, He was innocent, but “God put the wrong on Him who never did anything wrong…” (2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG). Jesus became sin for us and when He died, sin was put to death once and for all.

That fateful day in Eden, when Adam and Eve fell from grace through sin and were subsequently banished, we all suffered the same fate, however our loving Father had already designed a plan for our restoration through His beloved Son, Jesus, who opened the way (John 14:6). Jesus fulfilled the reversal of the curse of the Fall and the banishment, making a way for each of us to return to Paradise. Our Lord has done what seemed impossible but, as Scripture assures us, “Nothing is impossible for God!” (Luke 1:37). 

God can take a hopeless situation and bring complete restoration! By that cross, God gave us back everything that was lost. That cross was His gift to us. Sadly, the truth is that most people, even most Christians, don’t see it as a gift but instead, refer to the cross as a burden that they’re forced to bear. 

Today, I’d like for you to see the cross as a gift of incredible value that cannot be overestimated. The cross is indeed the gift that has never stopped giving. When Jesus Christ hung on that cross over 2,000 years ago, it was an amazing event that effected a great deliverance (2 Corinthians 1:10), for with this single death, the worldwide plague of sin and death was completely destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:55).

The gift of the cross achieved what no moral laws or religious striving could ever achieve. It saved mankind from eternal damnation and gave us eternal life. We do not have to work effortlessly to obtain eternal life, it has been freely given. Our works are of no effect, only His works matter – perfect work by perfect Man (2 Timothy 1:9). All we need do is accept the gift of the cross. 

When we receive a beautiful and expensive gift from a loved one, we tend to cherish it. We hold the giver and the gift close to our hearts, yet for some reason, this indescribable gift that Jesus has so lovingly given, we seem not to hold in such high esteem. Perhaps it’s because we do not really understand its worth. As expensive as the perfume in the alabaster jar was (Matthew 26:7), it still cannot compare to the price Jesus paid for the gift of the cross. The cost is more than you and I will ever be willing to pay. 

It’s critical for each one of us to comprehend that the gift of the cross is the centre of it all…

Jesus’ crucifixion not only removed all our sin – past, present, and future – it healed all our diseases (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24), made us righteous in God’s eyes (2 Corinthians 5:21), accomplished the total defeat of our unseen spiritual adversary (Hebrews 2:14), gave us access to relationship with God, so that we may become One with Him (John 14:6, 17:20-21), birthed a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), effected the New Covenant by the shedding of His blood (Luke 22:20), and has made possible “Thy Kingdom come…on earth as it is in Heaven” to every individual (Matthew 6:10; John 3:3).

Understand, Christ finished the job, He restored all that Adam and Eve lost – every single thing, eternal life itself, He gained it all back for us by the gift of the cross.

Amen†

The Gift of the Cross

Shelley Johnson April 11, 2017