The cross was God’s answer to the first prayer I can remember. The cross was Heaven’s answer to the questions I was just realizing that I had. When the Father draws a man to Christ, the man delights to find that Christ died for him thousands of years before. The sacrifice, though in the past, is effective today.
When we find ourselves praying, “God, forgive me”, we do not find the Holy Spirit saying, “I will, if you do…”. We find Him pointing us toward the cross. The shadow cast by the cross of Christ still reaches us, praying on our knees in the 21st century. We can stand up, and say with the Roman soldier also standing in that holy shadow, “Surely this was the Son of God!”1
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus said, “Take up your cross daily and follow me.”2 By this statement, spoken way before His crucifixion, He brought the reality of His cross to the life of discipleship. He connected the Christian life to the Christian cross, the life of devotion to His death. We share His cross. We boast in His cross.
The Cross Alone
Crux sola est nostra theologia. The cross alone is our theology.3
It is not a shame to us that our God died on a cross. The cross is foolishness to those who hate Him, but to those who love Him, the cross is the power of God. Those bloody wounds and stripes inflicted on His back were for my sin against God. Those nails driven through His hands were for my idolatry, immorality, lying, murder, adultery, covetousness, my every sin of omission, every sin of commission, and every other want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.4
How heavy must be our sin that it is God Himself who tips the scale? How heavy a thing is our sin that the only thing to overpower it was the fullness of deity, dwelling bodily?5 And how great was the love of God to give His only Son? No greater love has been seen or ever will be. Only the cross of Christ towers over the wrecks of time.6
Publicly Portrayed as Crucified
It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified (Galatians 3:1).
The only begotten Son of God was taken up on the mountain and given in exchange for the sons of men.7
We see in the cross the hands of God stretched out to receive the returning prodigal.8
We see, in the cross, the hands of the True Moses stretched out to part the waters of judgment. He allows His people to pass through but slams the waters back together on Pharaoh's chariots.9
We see, in the cross, our perfect High Priest10 who prays, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”11
We see, in the cross, the perfect King of Kings; the Lord reigns from the wood.12
We see the perfect David, raised up, slaying His tens of thousands.13
We see the temple destroyed, but from its right-hand side14, water flowing, water that will be eternal life to those who believe.
We see, in the cross, the serpent's head crushed at the foot of a tree by the Seed of the woman.15
We see, in the cross, the waters of judgment made sweet to drink. The bitter waters of Marah16 now are now the waters of baptism, which “now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience.”17
We see the True Joseph: despised and rejected by His brothers, but raised up and delivering the land from famine by means of bread of His own body.18
We see righteousness and peace kiss. The wrath of God is satisfied, and man is reconciled. Man is at peace with God.
Look Upon Him
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life (John 3:14-15).
In the cross, we see the epitome of divine irony. We see His victory even in what appeared like His defeat. We see Pilate proclaiming, Ecce homo! Behold the Man! And He is indeed the Man, the Second Adam to redeem us from the Fall. We see Christ humbling Himself to the point of death, even death on the cross.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.19
Look upon Christ. We read that every eye will see Him at His return. Let us look to Him today with the eyes of faith, that we may rejoice to bow before His pierced feet on that Day.
Let His sufferings be before our eyes,20 and say with Thomas,
My Lord, and my God!21
Related
His Sufferings Were Before Your Eyes: A series of posts sharing quotations from the Ante-Nicene Fathers on the sufferings of Christ.
Matthew 27:54
Luke 9:23
Luther’s Lectures on the Psalms, Weimarer Ausgabe 5.176.32
Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q:14, What is sin?
Colossians 2:9-10
From the hymn, In the Cross of Christ I Glory
Genesis 22:1
Luke 15
Exodus 14
Hebrews 4:14
Luke 23:34
Multiple church fathers reference “the Lord reigns from the wood” as originally part of Psalm 96:10, which was removed by unbelieving Jews of the 1st century. See Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho, and Augustine on Psalm 96.
1 Samuel 18:7
Ezekiel 47:1. See the Gregorian chant, Vidi Aquam: I saw water flowing out of the Temple, from its right side, Alleluia: And all to whom this water came were saved, And they shall say: Alleluia, Alleluia.
The protoevangelium in Genesis 3:15
Exodus 15:22
1 Peter 3:21
Genesis 41
Romans 10:4
This series of posts tracks the theme of the sufferings of Christ through the Ante-Nicene fathers. Check it out: https://codyilardo.substack.com/t/hswbye
John 20:28, see this post