The One On The Cross

Who was Jesus?

Why did His death make a difference?

The Bible states very clearly who Jesus was/is. And who He was/is makes the difference. I will let the Scripture speak for itself regarding who Jesus is, quoting from the New King James Version (Thomas Nelson, publishers). Jesus wasn’t an unfortunate victim of prejudice, or of tyranny, or of circumstances…

“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’” (Luke 1:34-35 NKJV)

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:18-23 NKJV)

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11 NKJV)

“Then the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’” (John 8:57-58 NKJV)

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (John 14:6 NKJV)

Who Jesus Christ was is why His death on the Cross made a difference.

Jesus made it clear that He came to Earth for one purpose, to die on the Cross. He spoke of His coming death many times: from John 3:14-18, to His announcement that they were going to Jerusalem at Passover — “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” (Matthew 16:21 NKJV), to this passage (John 12:27 NKJV): “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.”

On the night He was betrayed, He celebrated Passover with His disciples. This observance is called The Last Supper because it was the last meal He ate before His death, and because He stated that it was the last time He would drink of the vine until He would drink of it in the kingdom (Matthew 26:29). But, in another sense, it was The First Supper, for He instigated what is called Communion (or the Lord’s Table) that night. What the bread and the fruit of the vine signified fully explain what Jesus did on the Cross.

“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’” (I Corinthians 11:23-24 NKJV)

Jesus was beaten with fists and lashed with a scourge; He had a crown of thorns shoved on His head; He bore the instrument of His death—the Cross—until He collapsed due to the beating and lashing; He had spikes driven into His hands and feet; He hung on that Cross in mental agony as well as physical agony, struggling for each breath (the cause of death when crucified is positional asphyxia); He thirsted. Jesus did this for you; He did this for me. He absorbed the punishment we deserved. The physical, mental, and emotional agony were endured on our behalf. “This is My body which is broken for you.”

“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’” (Matthew 26:28 NKJV)

His body took the just judgment each of us deserves because we have sinned. His blood did something different: it was shed for the “remission” of those sins. The Greek word is aphesis and means “freedom”; it comes from the Greek word aphiemi, which means “to send forth”. Thus, Jesus’ blood “sends forth” the sins and brings freedom from the guilt and enslavement of sin. It is as if the sins were never committed. His sinless blood was shed to wash us clean and to purchase freedom. He did what we could not do: He created the way to reconciliation with God; He rescued us from eternal death; He cleansed us from sin.

These are the gifts His death provided. We simply choose to accept His work… or to reject it.

Next: Respond to the Cross

© 2009; used by permission.