by His Cross proclaims the single most important event in history, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Three times the Bible speaks of His Cross and what He did for us as our substitute:
- Jesus BORE His Cross — “And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:” (John 19:17)
- Jesus BLED on His Cross — “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself” (Colossians 1:20a).
- Jesus BLOTTED from His 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;” (Colossians 2:14)
His Cross began with a vile man, when Jesus was condemned to Barabbas’ cross (Luke 23:18-19). His Cross was passed on to a good man, when Simeon was called to bear it (Luke 23:26). These two men were equally guilty sinners, one a wicked bloodthirsty murderer and the other a good Jew coming in obedience to the Passover. It was not until Jesus got to the foot of Calvary that the cross belonging to one guilty of a crime, the cross that was passed to one innocent of any crime, became His Cross to bear for both the guilty and the good man.
His Cross became the place where Jesus took the punishment we deserve and offered us His righteousness we do not deserve (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we trust Christ at salvation, essentially, we are making a trade. By faith, we trade our sin and death penalty for His righteousness and eternal life. In theological terms, this is called substitutionary atonement (Romans 5:8-11).
His Cross construes to us a simple message salvation offered to all men. Man and religion make salvation hard, while God makes it easy. The message that Jesus had for a religious man named Nicodemus was the simple Gospel truth for us: “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). Thus, at Easter, when Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2), He made it possible for us to be reconciled unto God (Ephesians 2:16).
