Focused on the cross 

My church leader once told me of a young man in her small group who kept on praying ‘Thank you Jesus for the cross, thank you Jesus for the cross.’ It’s all he ever seemed to pray. After a while it started grating on her. ‘Can’t he pray something else?’ she thought. But the Lord challenged her strongly, explaining that this man really knew what it was to be forgiven. 

Seeing our lives through the prism of the cross changes everything. The more we grasp its meaning, the more our thoughts, actions and attitudes are turned upside down. Yet it can become over familiar, so that we forget its deep meaning...

The facets of the cross

As Wesley Hill says, the cross is like a diamond in that it has many different facets; the one you emphasize depends on the context. Its main facets include atonement, justification, sacrifice, adoption, reconciliation and liberation:

Atonement

 

An easy way to remember what this means is ‘at-one-ment.’ Jesus came to bring together what had been ripped apart: God and humanity. The Israelites observed a Day of Atonement, which foreshadows the cross (Lev 16). Theories of atonement include: Moral influence: Christ’s death is a positive example of love in action; Penal Substitution: Christ stood in the place of sinners; Ransom: We were held captive by sin, but God made a payment to buy us back, giving ‘his life as a ransom for many’ (Mark 10:45); Satisfaction: Christ’s death appeased the honour due to God that had been taken by sin. 

Sacrifice

Jesus is the perfect Passover sacrifice - none of the lamb’s bones were to be broken, just as none of Jesus’ bones were broken. He was crucified on the day of preparation for Passover, when the lamb was slaughtered. The Passover was considered a sign of deliverance from death. (Ex 12:27) 

The site of human weakness is simultaneously the site of God’s most powerful act. Another paradox lies in the sacrificial kingship of Jesus. As Hooker writes, it is epitomized in the word meaning ‘to lift up’. This verb refers to both glory and the physical cross. Jesus’ human flesh is broken… yet He is glorified. 

Justification

We are told that ‘all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,’ and the bible makes it clear that God’s sense of justice is far purer than ours  (Rom 3:23). Yet He made a ‘sacrifice of atonement’ to demonstrate His justice (Rom 3:26). We are no longer guilty because we have been justified by Jesus’s death on the cross. 

Adoption

Reconciliation


The intimate relationship we once had with God was broken through sin; Christ chose to actively step in and bring reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-19).


Liberation

Once we were imprisoned by sin and evil powers, but Jesus set us free by ‘triumphing over them by the cross.’ (Col 2:13-15).

Remembering the facets 


When we are feeling far from God, we can remember we’ve been atoned for; when we think we don’t belong, we can remember we’ve been adopted; when a sense of condemnation engulfs us, we can remember we’ve been justified. Jesus' cross is enough.

Do you think it’s worth focusing on all these facets, or does it risk over complicating the message of the cross? 

How does the cross affect the way you live?