The entire gospel of Jesus Christ that we proclaim stands on the cross upon which Jesus died. Without the cross Paul says we are to be pitied more than all men (1 Corinthians 15:19) because our faith is in vain and we are still in our sins.
The Cross of Jesus Christ is the central point of the Gospel message we proclaim as Christians. Jesus was a 1st century Jewish rabbi who taught like no one had ever taught proclaiming love, forgiveness, and mercy. He made claims so outrageous about his identity that the religious leaders of the day sought to silence him by killing him. Ironically Jesus never committed a single sin, nor committed a single crime. On what basis could they accuse him, arrest him, and find him guilty to the point of deserving death? Justly, none. Corruptly, many.
Liars, false witnesses, and malicious men framed Jesus and handed him over to the authorities to have him flogged and killed as a criminal. He was beaten in a way that would have human rights advocates up in arms today. All the while he never resisted. To mock him, they placed a vine of thorns shaped in the form of a crown on his head and pressed upon it. Blood streamed down his face. His clothes were taken from him leaving him naked and exposed for all to see. Nails pierced his hands and feet as he was laid supine on a splintery wooden cross. He was crucified among common men. A sword pierced his side to insure his death would not tarry past sunset. Darkness covered the earth.
He was buried in a borrowed tomb. A large stone sealed the entrance and guards were placed outside to be certain that no one would come and steal away his body. But trying to hold the creator of life itself in a hole is like trying to catch the sun in a baggie. It’s a bit too hot to handle.
Three days later the tomb is found empty, the stone is rolled away, and the guards are out cold. Jesus appears to women, disciples, and doubters, yet even some of his closest followers don’t recognize him with his new glorified body. He has changed somehow. He is still on earth, but no longer is governed by the laws of this world as he walks through walls, disappears, reappears, and even defies gravity!
Through the cross salvation is achieved for mankind. The story that gives us hope must be told. It is the life-changing gospel of a just God becoming man, dying in our place, paying the debt of sin, rising again, and going ahead of us to our eternal home. Jesus extends the invitation to simply believe this amazing, miraculous story of salvation. The cross of Christ. Foolishness to those who are perishing; The Power of God to those who believe.
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