Of all the things he could have done, Jesus’ primary focus was going to death on a cross. He “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51), knowing that suffering and death awaited him, that he would suffer and die. The cross was far more important, and far more foundational, than any of the other goods that Jesus could have achieved.
At its heart, the cross was a ransom for many (Mark 10:45) and achieved reconciliation between God and humanity. As we saw in 2 Corinthians, at the cross, “God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Cor 5:19),which was all possible because Jesus died in our place “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21). There are many things that the cross achieved, but the power of the cross to achieve pardon for sinners is front and centre across the New Testament – the forgiveness of sins, the removal of guilt, and a restored relationship with God.
You might like to take some time this week to dwell on these verses, and the picture they paint of why Christ came and what his death achieved: Is 53:5; Mk 10:45; Jn 1:29, 15:12-14; Rom3:23-25; 5:8; 8:32; 1 Cor 1:18, 23-25; 15:3-5; 2 Cor 5:14, 19, 21; 8:9; Gal3:13; Col 2:13-14; 1 Tim 1:15; Heb 9:11-13; 10:12; 10:19; 1 Pet 2:24; 3:18; 1Jn 4:10.
The cross proclaims that our deepest need is the forgiveness of our sins, reconciliation between God and humanity. Jesus came for this work, to seek and save the lost, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
The fact of the cross – of Jesus Christ emptying and humbling himself to the point of a humiliating death – demonstrates the urgency and the primacy of what the cross achievers: God reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting our sins against us. Paul captures this urgency in 2 Corinthians 5:20: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
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