I was looking at some photos this week, on Facebook that one of my friends posted, of their holiday in Dubrovnik, Croatia. I’ve never been to the historic sea city myself but the pictures I’ve seen of the old town look absolutely beautiful.
Just behind the walled city is a low mountain which has a large white cross erected upon it. Many people, who visit the city, take the time to visit this hill and in particular the white cross which can be seen, I’m told, from almost every spot within the old town.
It is quite interesting to think though that the purpose for almost everyone making their way up to the viewpoint isn’t to look at the cross. Rather, they wish to gain a greater view of the city.
Of course there is nothing significant about that particular cross, however it reminded me of another cross that has the utmost importance to all.
The cross of Jesus Christ.
It may seem strange to many that Christians remember and place so much significance on a cross and more particularly the death of a man upon that cross.
1st Corinthians 1 verse 18 reads “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
What is your opinion of the cross? Foolishness or the power of God.
To those who have never trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ the cross will be of no significance at all. 2000 odd years ago, in a small country thousands of miles from where I am today a man suffered the most cruel of all deaths, crucifixion, but what is the relevance of that to me in 2018?
To the Christian, the cross of Jesus Christ is of most importance. It is because of the work that was completed by Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary all those years ago that we can have a certain future to look forward to.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians “We preach Christ crucified”, this is the focal point of the gospel (good news) message. It paints a picture of blood flowing from Christ as He hung upon the cross.
A message of shed blood is a gory sight and many will chose to accept Christ’s morale character but reject His crucifixion. To the Corinthians this manner of death was foolishness.
The thought of a world being saved by a death of crucifixion to those who were a wise and proud people was foolish but to those of us who through faith know Christ was crucified it is the power of God.
This hasn’t changed much today either. Millions will reject this message and fail to accept that our eternal future is all dependent upon what we do with the man who died upon the cross.
When the Lord Jesus walked upon this earth, many were witnesses to His wondrous miracles and had heard His authoritative teachings. Then why did they shout “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” ?
Deep rooted in human nature the answer can be found. As we look upon the cross we see evidence that mankind is wrong and God’s verdict is, Romans 3 verse 23, “For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
God stated in Ezekiel 18 verse 20 “The soul who sins shall die”. This verse outlines clearly God’s absolute hatred for sin and mankind’s grave future.
What about the purpose for Christ’s death? The Bible says in Hebrews 9 verse 22 “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.” We can have absolutely no forgiveness for our sins unless our debt has been paid.
We can see a wonderful expression of God’s love in the cross. John 3 verse 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have ETERNAL LIFE.”
Romans 5 verses 6-8 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.
The Lord Jesus final cry on the cross before giving up His spirit was “It is FINISHED”. What a great cry of victory!
The cross is not only the basis of our peace and hope but it is the means of our eternal salvation. Is it yours?