At the Cross...

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed”.

Isi 53:3-6 [KJV]

 Let’s just educate ourselves on a few thoughts that will help us apprectiate the atoning sacrifice of our Lord. What happened at the Cross? Well He was crucified (...you don’t say!) [just kidding].

Thinking about the crucifixion just fills my mind with so many ideas, but I’ll just stick to what happened At the Cross. I’ll try to analyse it sequentially;

First- He was taken to the place of the skull (Golgotha)-  Hebrew tradition affirms that, when David killed Goliath, he took his head and buried it on a mountain in Jerusalem that became known as the place of the skull, the Bible supports this fact;

“And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent”. 1Sam 17:54 [KJV]

So we see a shepherd boy stepping out in God’s name and taking away the reproach of God’s people (the Israelites) by defeating a champion that rendered them powerless. You’ll agree with me that, that’s a ‘type’ of the redemption work of Jesus (the good shepherd), when He came in God’s name and took away our reproach (sin) by defeating the devil through the cross;

“And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it (the cross)”. Col 2:15

 He was indeed the son of David! Another ‘type’, we see is Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac (the promised child) that made him father of many nations; So we see Jesus (the promised messiah) being sacrificed to bring many sons unto the Father, many scholars agree that mount Moriah (where Abraham sacrificed) is one and the same with mount Calvary where Jesus was crucified.

Second- He was nailed to the cross;-

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross”. Col 2:14

In order words, He blotted out the law; i.e. by being condemned He condemned the law and in case you’re looking for it, you can check the cross! You see, the law exposed man as sinful and restricted God from reaching out to His people as the Father that He is, so sacrifices were made to God periodically to cover sin, but Jesus made the final sacrifice that ended the law (notice at the cross He cried God, not Father) and thus started a new dawn for men to find a Father in the God that they knew.

Third- There were two criminals crucified by His sides; yes He was numbered with the transgressors, so you can’t number transgressors without numbering Jesus (the inscription on his cross read “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS”) and you also can’t mention Christians without mentioning Christ; since Jesus is the very Christ (God with us), the cross is thus the only platform on which God could interact with man, thus reconciling God and man from the ‘beef’ that started in the garden of Eden.

Fourth- He was forsaken;

“...Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matt 27:46

Well, He was forsaken, the Greek word implies; “God left Him behind” needless to say; He bore the full implications of the law. Gal 3:13

            Fifth- His outer Garments were parted into 4 places among 4 soldiers and they cast lots for His inner coat. I know that many metaphors could apply here, but we see Jesus making an aspect of the Jewish culture (their dress code) to be sought after by Gentiles; see salvation was to the Jews first and then the Gentiles, it’s as if He was giving an invitation card, saying to the Gentiles- “People are getting saved over here, you’re all invited”. Halleluyah!

            And I’ll rest at this point, He cried, “It is finished”, the veil of the Holy of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom; the Holy Ghost was released from His ‘Holy Chambers’ and is now available to dwell in the heart of men and women all around the world. He put an end to the law and He took over the duties of the priesthood when Caiaphas the high priest tore his clothes (which was unlawful for him to do) before the eternal high priest- after the order of Melchisedec, and that was the end of the Abrahamic Covenant (testament) and the beginning of the new testament.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth”.

Rom 10:4

            So we see Jesus died to save us from sin (Matt 1:21), He is the very Word that cleanses us from sin (Eph 5:26) and He sent the Holy Spirit that empowers (Acts 1:8) us to live His resurrected life so as He is, so are we presently!

Salvation for the Unsaved

Just pray this prayer sincerely and partake of this free gift of salvation.

“Jesus, today I come as I am: for you said He that comes to You, You will in no wise cast out; therefore I believe in my heart that You died, were buried and resurrected for my redemption and justification, and by your finished work, I stand righteous before God, therefore with my mouth, I confess you as my Lord and saviour today the [date/month/year] and I am free from sin, sickness, and Satan and I reign in this life by your grace and have assurance of the life to come in Jesus precious name. Amen.”