No other day in history can compare to the importance of what happened on the day our Savior was crucified. It is the center point of time for the whole human race. Everything before that day looked forward to it, and everything since then has looked back to what was accomplished the day He died. God had planned the events of that day before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). What do your see, or think of, when you look back to that day? As we remember the greatness of our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross, there are several things we should see.
1. We can see the danger and damaging effects of sin. Sin is what separates man from God (Isa. 59:1,2). When we look to the cross, we see what had to be done to redeem man from the horrifying consequences of our actions. God is just, and man’s sin problem had to be dealt with. It was only through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross that man could ever be justified in God’s eyes. When we consider the pain and suffering Jesus went through, it should remind us just how terrible sin is. The cross serves as a reminder of what it cost for us to be forgiven. Isaiah the prophet wrote, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:4-5).
2. We can see the defeat of the devil. Satan has been the archenemy of God and mankind since creation. He attacked man in the garden by deceiving Adam and Eve into believing they could be like God, which resulted in the fall of mankind. After the fall God rebuked Satan, and gave us a prophecy of the coming Christ. He said, “and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). This prophecy was speaking of Christ’s virgin birth, and then the eventual defeat of the devil. The defeat occurred at the cross. Christ died on the cross to justify and redeem mankind from the sin that Satan had brought into the world. Christ defeated death three days later when He was resurrected, and made it possible for all obedient men and women to do the same through Him.
3. We can see the perfect picture of God’s love for mankind. As we look at the world around us, it’s sometimes hard to believe that God loves us as much as He does. So many millions of souls have rejected the love of God, but yet He still sent Jesus to die for us. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Christ’s death on the cross is the awesome display of the love that God has for each and every one of us. In His death, He gave us life. The apostle Paul described it this way, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8).
The most important day of all occurred two thousand years ago in Jerusalem. We can look back on that day and see the defeat of our enemy, the overcoming of our sin, and the love God has for us. We can see all that by looking back to the cross. -Ed
