Why The Cross? Part I

A youth pastor was talking to a group of junior highers about the cross of Christ, explaining how Jesus’ death had provided for their individual forgiveness and salvation. “It’s Personal,” he said. “Jesus didn’t just die for people in general, He died for you.” He paused to let the impact of the statement sink in. Suddenly one-seventh-grade girl blurted out: “so?” “So?” As irreverent and inappropriate as that question seems, that seventh grader’s response is sadly representative of how people think today.

We know Jesus died on a cross for us; we just don’t see the connection between that event 2,000 years ago and our lives today. What is the cross about? Why did Jesus have to die such a horrible death? The cross has inspired endless debates, wars, books, songs, and lives through the centuries. I hope this short note may help you gain some insight into why Jesus had to die and why He died in such a gruesome way.

First of all, there’s humanity’s problem. All humans are sinners. We’ve broken God’s law, so we stand guilty before God and deserving of punishment. Sin has warped every aspect of human life; it has had such a radical effect on us that we stand in open rebellion and defiance of the God who made us and loves us. Consider this: God made Himself vulnerable to human beings one time, and we murdered Him.

Because of our sinful nature, we are incapable of pleasing God or doing anything on our own to change the situation, We are, as Paul writes in Ephesians 2:5 and Colossians 2:13, dead in our sins and dead people can’t exactly help themselves. We desperately need help from someone who can please God, who can do something about the desperate state of human souls.

Jesus, by virtue of His sinless life, is that Someone. But helping us is a terribly expensive process. Again, we are guilty before God - we deserve His anger and punishment. However God took the wrath we deserve and poured it out on Jesus, on the cross. In some ways, it is beyond human understanding. Jesus took upon Himself our sins – every mean, dishonest, disgusting thought or action – and was transformed from the perfect, holy, righteous person He was into utter sin itself.