The Cross by Pastor Jon Darnell
Welcome to the cross where God hangs welcoming humanity with arms outstretched inviting us to come through Jesus’s flesh to experience God. It’s upward pole inviting us to a higher life impossible to live without His power and strength. This is the only way to God, our only hope.
Without the cross we are helplessly lost. Our salvation was paid for by Jesus at a terrible cost, and now it is the place where all our benefits of Psalms 103:2-14 are drawn from. It is the place of surety of a Christ to come.
It was from the beginning of humanity as a tree in the garden, a place to go to for life and pardon; but it had no beauty to draw Adam and Eve unlike the tree of knowledge which will only deceive. Real eternal knowledge can only come from this “life” tree, where a God man laid His life for you and me.
In the Book of Revelation 22:2 this tree of life’s leaves contain healing, this gruesome tree to the eyes is unappealing. It’s to all the nations, to those who will come and eat, It is all that will bring pardon at the judgment seat. This judgment seat of God’s Holiness demands death, but this act of God on a tree says pardon can be obtained by me.
God’s glory is His goodness, Exodus 34:5-10 shown to you and me, never more clearly seen than seeing Jesus hung on a tree. God’s plan for you and me, so that we can be “free”. Free of judgment to come, freedom from the bondage of sins we have done, freedom of fear from a God who invites us to come near. From a tree Jesus calls to us come and dine. Eat my flesh, my bread, my words I have said. Drink my blood – its water and wine these will be the ties that bind. For He desires we and Him to be one; for us also to reign; for us to be a son.
Jesus is the one who came by water and blood, not in the water only but with water and blood calling come unto me I will give you rest – learn to live in me and you will be blessed. The cross is not an abstract idea or appeal but God’s call to put it on our shoulders and carry everyday. In our doing so it will show others Jesus is the only way.
Into my life I must receive Christ dying on the tree, I Cor. 15:3. Then Romans 6:6,5 I must become intimately acquainted with the fact that my old self was crucified with Him and I am no longer a slave to sin for I have become united with Him in the likeness of His death so also I am united in the likeness of His resurrection. I am to consider by the cross I am dead to sin, Romans 6:11-13, by the cross a new life I win, sin doesn’t have dominion over me again.
The cross must be a yoke to me, joining me to Christ, bonding us together to mutual work in His fields. My life no longer my own, I am no longer bound to my tree of my own wisdom and knowledge. Its only by this tree of life can my greatest weakness and sin can be humbled, my pride. Matthew 11:28-30; 23:11,12.
God showed His lack of sinful pride by humbling Himself to become man, then naked He died upon the tree. Hebrews 5:8,9. As a son Jesus learned obedience from the things He suffered and having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.
Where does our obedience begin everyday? Matthew 10:38; Luke 9:23-26. I must assume the work of the cross in my life just as God assumed our humanity and died the horrible death of a felon for our sins and crimes. Psalms 85:8-13 in the cross we have a revelation of an angry God. Romans 1:16-18, His holiness demands judgment but on the cross we see righteousness and peace kissing one another for God put on humanity to pay the price of judgment so we may have peace, shalom and loving kindness and truth knit together in our lives.
God can not be understood by law, or rules which are our works, but only when we see God who gave Himself. Colossians 1:19-23; 2:2,3,9-17. This Jesus in whom “all the fullness of deity dwells” and we have been made complete in Him by the cross, burial, resurrection, and His glorification in the heavenlies.
By the cross we are to set our minds on things above for we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Christ has become our very life Colossians 3:1-11. Sin is too much of every man’s make up to be overcome by “self effort”:, we would only become proud in our imagined humility but we must reckon ourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ. Romans 6:11 who is our Lord, Ruller, Master, by our co-crucifixion with Him.
Jesus died not only for sin but unto sin Romans 6:10. As Christ was resurrected from this death, He gave us “His Spirit” to live a new life with. Romans 8:1-19. If we were born Americans but wanted to be true Frenchmen we could not become French by self effort or struggle. But suppose we died and were re-born to French mothers; now French attitudes would be easy, so it is by the cross.
We must be reborn by first dying with Him on a cross “I am crucified with Christ” Romans 6:6, Galatians 6:14, and by His spirit be reborn to a new life, a God natured life, allowing our lives to be controlled by God’s life spirit in us.
Satan was defeated by Jesus Christ on a cross, he has no power over us unless we take on Satan’s selfish pride and self infatuation, but we are crucified from this so we can have God’s nature, His glory so we might show forth His goodness, His forgiveness, His mercy, His tenderness. Exodus 34:5-10. Slow to anger, keeping loving kindness, gracious to all. The cross gives us the potential for victory but we must turn of our own volition against our old master, the devil and choose to place our selves under the rule and reign of the true King, Jesus Christ the Lord, the author and finisher of our faith.
Jesus rebuked Peter in Matthew 16:23 saying he was of Satan, a stumbling block for not setting his mind on God’s interest but man’s interests. Another time Peter wanted to use God power to call down fire to punish people and Jesus let him know of what spirit he was of. But we must be of the spirit of the cross, for the cross is the power of God and the wisdom of God. I Corinthians 1:18, 24; 2:2.
Let us be determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The cross is the altar where the sacrifice of the “new covenant” was offered. Here a sinless man offered Himself as a sacrifice to make a covenant with a Father God and we join ourselves to this man therefore coming into this new covenant. Hebrews 10:5-20. We enter this covenant through Jesus Christ having boldness (confidence) to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus (v 19) by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh (v 20). Hebrews 9:14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot or blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 9:15 and for this reason He is the mediator of the new covenant, by means of His death, for the redemption of the transgressions of the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
It’s in the cross, Hebrews 2:9-11, that we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons of glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies (sets apart) and those who are being sanctified are of one, for which He is not ashamed to call us brethren. It’s the cross that gave Jesus the right to have children Hebrews 2:13 and for us to have the right to receive “the spirit of adoption” as God’s sons, with the spirit coming into us crying Abba Father Galatians4:4-7.
All of this seeing the value of the cross is of no effect unless the spirit of love that drove Jesus to this cross becomes working in us. The glory of the cross was God showing His attributes of Exodus 34:5-7, showing true agape love. When I show forth true Agape love of I Corinthians 13:4-7, then my daily taking up the cross will shine forth to others.
