What does the cross mean?

The cross always meant…the grave is coming. You will not escape death on the cross. Yet, this is the symbol that Jesus chose…this is the imagery that Jesus gave for what life would be like if you followed him. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” -Matthew 16:24 (NLT) The cross only meant one thing…death. And the cross would only ever mean one thing, unless something miraculous happened on a cross that had never happened before. But the cross means something different today. Because something miraculous did happen on the cross. We know that today…the Cross is a symbol of HOPE and a symbol of Victory! Let us survey the wonderous cross God the Son, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Took your place and my place on the cross. And it was through the Cross that Jesus is able to offer you and I so much abundant and flourishing life. Jesus and His work on the cross is where we place our Faith. Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. What happened on the cross? How did the death of Jesus on the cross totally transform what the cross means for us today? And why can we now boldly declare that the cross is a beautiful symbol of hope? #1. The Cross Offers God’s Peace And the cross of Jesus offers you peace with God. Here’s what Paul writes in Colossians 1:19-21 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. -Colossians 1:19-20 (NLT) #2. The Cross Offers God’s Presence Something very interesting and amazing happened when Jesus died on the cross. But Jesus let out a loud cry, and died. And the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw that he died in this way, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” -Mark 15:37-39 (NASB) There was a veil (a thick curtain) in the Temple that was meant to separate people from a room referred to as the Holy of Holies. This was there to separate the clean from the unclean. The holy from the profane. This room was the most sacred part of the Temple. It contained the Ark of the Covenant, a symbol of God’s special relationship with Israel. And only the High Priest was allowed to enter this room once a year…on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement to offer a sacrifice. This was a room for God’s holy presence. Because God’s presence does not tolerate evil and sin, this veil existed as a barrier between God and people. Limited access. Very limited access. But the death Jesus died on the cross, as he breathed his last breath, He cried out, and at that moment the veil in the Temple was torn in two. Ripped down the center. What does that mean? It means that YOU are now offered God’s presence. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. -Colossians 1:22 (NLT) The blood shed on the cross for you has now brought you God’s peace and has brought you into His very own presence. No more dividing wall. No more limited access. The cross of Jesus Christ offers you unlimited access to God’s very presence. And standing in the presence of God, you are now holy and blameless. His blood cleanses you from sin. #3. The Cross Offers Forgiveness Sin equals death. Paul writes about this in Romans chapter 6 where he says the wages of sin is death. Sin creates a debt of death. You and I owe a debt that is only payable in death. According to God’s holy standard. The penalty for sin is the grave. But the debt was paid by Jesus who nailed our debt to the cross. You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God made you alive with Christ. And God forgave all our sins. We owed a debt because we broke God’s laws. The debt listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us that debt. He took away that debt and nailed it to the cross. -Colossians 2:13-14 (ICB) What beautiful imagery we have in this verse. Picture all your sin, all the ways you’ve messed up…nailed to the cross in Jesus Christ. Because He loves you. He paid your debt of death and the grave. As one of my favorite worship songs declares. Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson sin, He washed it white as snow Jesus took our sins upon Himself…canceling our debt. The cross offers you peace with God. The cross offers you the presence of God The cross cancels the debt you owe God by offering you Forgiveness. And finally #4 The Cross Offers Freedom There is a very real spiritual battle going on in our world. Paul writes in Ephesians 6 that our battle is not against flesh and blood, what he means there is that it’s not a physical battle…it’s a spiritual one. There’s a battle for your soul. Listen to how Peter describes this battle and our enemy: Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. -I Peter 5:8 But listen to what God tells us happened at the cross: And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. -Colossians 2:15 If I was writing my own paraphrase of this verse I would say that, through the cross, Jesus declawed the lion and pulled all his teeth out. By Jesus choosing the cross and grave, he has the spiritual authority to set people free from the spiritual forces of evil and any power they used to have over the grave. The cross of Jesus Christ offers you spiritual freedom. When you place your faith in Jesus Christ, you become united with him in His death on the cross, and receive His power living in you. Paul writes about this in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. -Galatians 2:20 The enemy no longer has any authority over your soul or your grave. Jesus disarmed the enemy through the cross and as it says in Colossians 2, Jesus made a public spectacle of them…meaning He publicly put to shame these spiritual rulers and authorities. God’s peace. God’s presence. God’s forgiveness. God’s freedom. All this is made possible because of the work Jesus Christ accomplished through the cross.