At the very heart of the Christian hope is the crucifixion of Jesus. “He died,” we say, “to pay for our sins.” But then literally thousands upon thousands of people were crucified in the Greco-Roman world. How does one more tragedy in that far off era matter today?
Jesus went to the cross willingly. Out of selfless love, On the cross He took upon Himself the full weight of guilt for the wrongdoing of all His people, past present and future. The full weight of God’s judgement for all that guilt fell upon Him. We cannot fully take this in, but the physical torment was only the beginnings of His suffering on the cross. Jesus suffered an eternity of Hell in those few short hours.
Here is God’s answer to the central dilemma of the Bible. Our purpose as creatures made in our Creator’s image is to enjoy knowing Him personally. But our guilt separates us from Him. The Creator-God cannot just forgive humanity’s rebellion against Him. His very character demands that wrong-doing be punished. This is actually part of what makes Him good. At the cross the problem of sin is dealt with. God Himself, motivated by love and pity takes the infinite punishment His own justice demands for sin. For those for whom Christ died, there is nothing left to pay. Justice has been done. The price for sin has been paid in full.
At Jesus’s Cross, God’s perfect justice, mercy and grace are on display for all to see.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Jesus of Nazareth (from the cross), the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 27 verse 46
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Paul the Apostle, the Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 21