Easter reflections: The Cross

Day 2:

On that first Good Friday many would have seen the darkened sky and Jesus’ lifeless body, and concluded that God had been defeated. But, from eternity’s perspective, Jesus was never more powerful and glorious. On the cross he was conquering sin, Satan and death once and for all. He was displaying God’s indisputable sovereignty, goodness and love to every generation and culture. The cross was not a tragic accident, or the outcome of cruel men getting the upper hand. It was the culmination of God’s salvation plan where the sin of the world met the full force of his holiness.

Day 3:

As we come to Christ . . . empty-handed, claiming no merit of our own, but clinging by faith to His blood and righteousness, we are justified. We pass immediately from a state of condemnation and spiritual death to a state of pardon, acceptance, and the sure hope of eternal life. Our sins are blotted out, and we are ‘clothed’ with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. In our standing before God, we will never be more righteous, even in heaven, than we were the day we trusted Christ, or we are now.

(Jerry Bridges quoted in The Cross)

Day 4:

God’s wrath is wholly satisfied. And to demonstrate this, on Good Friday he tore apart the veil of the temple (Matthew 27:51). The separation between God and man was now over, and God was inviting sinners into his presence through the precious blood shed on Calvary. Today we can come boldly into God’s presence in the full assurance of faith, because of the Christ of Calvary.

Day 5:

When the mockers say, ‘He saves others, he cannot save himself,’ they think the ‘cannot’ is bound up with the nails. But Jesus has already declared: ‘Do you think I cannot call on . . . twelve legions of angels?’. A few rusty nails aren’t going to mean all that much to twelve legions of angels. Jesus is constrained not by might, nails or loss of blood. He is constrained by his passionate commitment to do his Father’s will. In that sense, he cannot save himself, and that is how he saves others.

Day 6:

At the cross we see how holy God is because he cannot overlook, forget or ignore sin. We also see God’s infinite and everlasting love thundering from Calvary across the generations. Look at the cross and tell yourself: this is not just what God thought about me two thousand years ago, but this is exactly what God thinks and feels about me now.

Day 7:

In God’s sight we are absolutely without blemish and free from accusation. There’s no possibility that we could be held to account for our sins before the holy God, because he has dealt with them entirely. The devil, who loves to accuse us of our sins, has no ground to stand on because our sins have been wiped away by Christ’s sacrifice. All our sin – past, present and future – has been dealt with at Calvary. Every skeleton in the cupboard that you worry about has been forgiven (Colossians 1:21-22).

Day 8:

At the cross we see that not only is God for us, he is with us. Jesus became one of us – sharing the muck, madness and mundanity of our lives. His death conclusively refutes the charge that God is distant and dismissive of our suffering. The crown of thorns, the betrayal of friends, the taunts of his enemies, the nails driven through his hands and feet reveal a God who understands our pain and stands with us in it.