The significance of the cross and its divine purpose

EASTER is the Christian passover festival, which comes from the Greek word Pascha.

The festival rests not on how it has been named and the accompanying celebrations that have become commonplace, which are questionable.

Instead, the festival is about its indisputable and incomparable content and significance, which is the remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection. Christ’s conquest on earth was to conquer man’s three main enemies; sin, Satan and death.

The undeserved suffering that Christ endured while on that mission was an integral part of God’s plan.

The cross was no mistake. The crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ are at the heart of all Christian proclamation, its faith, life and theology.

Without Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection all Christian proclamation will be void and worthless.

Because of the passover and resurrection Sunday, every Sunday celebration becomes a resurrection Sunday.

Without the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ there would be no church and consequently no need for preaching.

Therefore, the church has one eternal message which is the victory of the cross over sin, Satan and death.

This marks the uniqueness of the Christian faith as well as the genuineness of Christ.

We thank God for sending His son to willingly die for us, which stemmed from his deliberate free will, and borne out of His explicit obedience to His Father. In Luke 9:51 “Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem” –which is indicative of his total commitment, singlemindedness and determination.

On that first Good Friday, there were two other crosses on either side of Christ’s cross. On one was a murderer and on the other a thief, three different crosses with three different characters.

The murderer said to Christ: “If you’re the son of God, save yourself and save us.”

The murderer’s cross was made for him because of his crimes and he died in sin.

The other man (robber) said: “We deserve the punishment, but this man (Christ) what has he done. He is a just man.

“Lord”, he said: “Remember me when you come into your kingdom”.

While the robber died to sin because he was condemned and crucified, only Christ died and redeemed us from our sins. This became evident when Christ said to the robber: “Today you shall be with me in paradise.”

In so doing, Christ brought hope against all hope to a man condemned to die a similar death, maybe not as gruesome, as himself.

It was for people like the robber that Christ died, people without God, hope, eternal future, peace and purpose in life.

What a choice of place to bring salvation to people, on the cross. This indicates it’s never too late to commit your life to Christ.

The cross of Christ was a cross of hope, not hopelessness. The cross of suffering became a symbol of salvation because of the saviour who hung on it.

The cross became a symbol to show how much Christ was prepared to suffer to redeem and rescue fallen mankind. On that cross, Christ paid the full price for the sins of the world.

Christ atoned for the wickedness and sins of mankind by giving them access to a holy and just God.

The cross became a bridge to restore and reconcile a holy God and unrighteous man.

On the cross, Satan thought Christ was defeated when he said: “It is finished”. But praise God that what Christ was actually saying was that his purpose on Earth had been accomplished. God and man could now walk and talk again as Adam walked and talked with God. God’s plan for the salvation of mankind was now fulfilled through His son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now man was reconciled and related to God, no more as a sinner, but as a saint washed, cleansed and sanctified by the blood shed on the cross of Calvary.

While the cross became a symbol of suffering, it also posed a challenge to those who desire to be his disciples and eventually enjoy eternal life with God in paradise.

Of that, Christ said: “If any man wants to be my disciple, let him first deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”

Christ not only died for us, but died to save. Therefore, true freedom is not found in and by man, but only exists through Christ. You don’t have to settle for the cheap freedom options the world and Satan offer because Christ paid the price for our sin with his life so that we could enjoy true freedom.

He who the son (Christ) sets free is free indeed. This passover season God wants to take your corrupt endings and give you new beginnings, new life and new hope. This gives us the right to wish everyone “Happy Passover”.

Naidoo is the lead pastor at the Salt and Sunshine Ministries in Queensburgh.