“The Centrality of the Cross of Christ”

The truth of the cross of Jesus Christ occupies the central stage of Christianity.

The cross of Jesus Christ is the hallmark of the central event in civilization. Yet, the truth that should be most loved is often loathed. The truth that should be given effort to appreciate is often the one that is most misunderstood. It is quite interesting and disturbing how people today view the cross and be convinced that the sight is familiar to them. When asked, however, what the cross means, their answers are unthinkable – from a piece of jewel, jewellers pound so that people can have something to stick on their ears and hang on their necks, to fuzzy things for their rear view mirrors, to chocolate-covered pastries people can buy on Holy Week.

The sight of the blood-stained cross is too much to understand and behold at one glance.

No, the cross of Christ is way more beautiful and spectacular than that. What is the cross really? The cross of Christ is where the Word became flesh. The God became human. The One who created was born. The invisible became visible. The untouchable became touchable. The eternal life experienced temporal death. The transcendent One descended and became immanent. The unlimited became limited. The infinite became finite. The immutable became mutable. The unbreakable became fragile. The spirit became matter. Eternity entered time. The independent became dependent. The almighty became weak. The loved became hated. The exalted was humbled. The glory was subject to shame. Fame turned to obscurity. From inexpressible joy to tears of unimaginable grief. From Ruler to being ruled. From power to weakness. From the throne to a cross.

The cross of Christ is central because were it not for the cross, there would have been no gospel.

One will never truly understand the necessity of the cross until one understands the gospel and the idea of substitution that the cross carries on its beams. It was the resurrection of Christ that secured man’s salvation and resounded Christ’s final victory over sin and death, however, it was also the cross of Christ where holiness, justice and wrath were not compromised for love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, acceptance and second chances.

Think of Jesus Christ there. What’s He doing up there? Picture Him stretched out against the sky absorbing God’s wrath for your sin. He is satisfying the demands of a holy God, paying the price that God’s holiness requires for you to be forgiven – on the beams where your arms should have been stretched out and nailed; In the place where your blood should have stained the ground, there Jesus hung as your substitute – for God will render all accounts settled either in Hell or on the cross.