In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins….And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. Colossians 1:14, 20 (NKJV)

At the cross, Christ died and took our place. The Lamb of God took away the sins of the world. Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice. The cross was created as an altar for the Son of God to lay down His life and offer up Himself to God for us. He took our punishment, and He died in our place to give us life- even eternal life.

The cross is a place of death.

Jesus gave His life. No man could take it from Him. And He had the power to raise His life back up by the command given to Him by the Father through the Holy Spirit.

The cross speaks of suffering and shame.

Publicly, Jesus hung naked on a bloody cross for six hours. Why six? Six is the number of man since man was formed on the sixth day of creation. Jesus suffered and experienced the shame of the cross for man.

The cross speaks of self-denial.

Self-denial means we deny ourselves and live for God. As Jesus took up and carried the cross for us, He denied Himself and surrendered to the will of the Father. He died that we might live. Now, we are to carry our cross, meaning we live a crucified life- dead to sin and self. And because Jesus now lives, He gives us His life and power to live the crucified life. Jesus is living in us and through us, so as we die, we actually live. In denying ourselves by the power of the cross, we can live a resurrected life by the resurrected Savior.

The cross is the place of the great exchange.

Jesus died to give us His life. He took our sins and gave us His righteousness. We exchanged our pain and received His healing. Jesus took our poverty and gave us His riches. Jesus took our shame and gave us His glorious name. He became separated from God so we could be near to God. Jesus shed His blood to give us a New Covenant with God. He died to give us all that He is and all that He accomplished. All we have to do is read God’s Word- When He said, “It is finished,” Jesus fulfilled every promise, prophecy, type and shadow contained in Scripture about the Savior.

Because of the cross…

Jesus gave us His all, and as we live the crucified life, dying to our wills, wants, ways, and words, we begin to enjoy all He died to give us. No more sin debt. The price is paid. Because of the cross and the shed blood of Jesus, we can experience all the benefits of being the children of God. Because of the cross, we can escape a devil’s hell and a life of sin, misery, and pain. Joy, liberty, and life everlasting are ours- because of the cross.