Essays
The Necessity Of The Cross
THE NECESSITY OF THE CROSS
Was the death of Christ necessary? Was there no other way for man to be redeemed from the clutches of sin? Could not our all-powerful God have made another way back for mankind? Furthermore, if it was essential that Jesus die in our stead, why did the only begotten Son of God have to die “on a cross” (Philp.2:8)? While we can never fully penetrate or comprehend the mind of God (Isa.55:9), the cross of Christ allows us to peer deeply into the heart of God to see a significance slice of all that God has prepared for those who love Him (1Cor.2:9). By these things, (He) has granted to us everything that pertains to life and godliness (2Pet.1:3).
The death of Jesus was an indispensable element in God’s plan to secure man’s redemption. By the will of The Father, Jesus was SENT TO DIE for our sins (1Jn.4:10 & 14). In the Torah, God declares that, “life is in the blood” (Lev.17:11). In citations too many to mention, the books of Moses delineate the inevitability of a blood offering in the forgiveness of sin. The New Testament also em-phatically affirms this truth - - without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb.9:22). The death of Jesus was not required just to fulfill the demands of the Old Testament Law. Long before God provided Moses and Israel with copious laws about sacrificial blood offerings, God had made a plan for man that included the “bruising” of His Son (Gen.3:15). The account of Abraham’s journey with his son, Isaac (who was begotten by God), foreshadows the cross. With an altar prepared, Isaac inquired of his father, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb…?” (Gen.22:7). With a robust faith in Jehovah God, Abraham answered Isaac saying, God will provide for Himself the lamb… (Gen.22:8). Centuries later, John pointed to Jesus and declared, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn.1:29). Jesus was sent by God as the perfect Lamb (1Pet.19) - - a “perfection” wrought by suf-fering (Heb.5:8). Peter adds, Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God… (1Pet.3:18).
As to why Jesus had to die “on a cross” - - such was a cursed means to a loving end. The horror of the cross was that Jesus be-came a curse for us. Paul references Deut.21:23 in proclaiming, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (Gal.3:13). While Jesus was not forced to bear our sins in His body on the tree (1Pet.2:24), there was no other way. Although Jesus prayed, “remove this cup from me…” (Lk.22:42), God remained inexorable. Rather, the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief if He would render Himself as a guilt offering (Isa.55:10). Our Lord was not nailed to the cross by the will of men, but rather by the will of The Father. Our Savior was delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God… (Acts 2:23). In this we see the sacrificial depth of the love of our Father. And by means of His death on the cross, Jesus’ willful submission to the loving aim of His Father redounds in drawing all men to Him (Jn.12:32). And thus we sing: love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.
Terry Siverd / Cortland Church of Christ
