The Gospel Way Catechismنموونە

QUESTION 19: What Happened on the Cross?

ANSWER

Jesus gave himself not only as a martyr, but as the Messiah, the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His death in our place conquers evil, conveys God’s love, and creates a cross-shaped people.

For many people today, the cross of Jesus symbolizes suffering and defeat, a tragic end to a noble life. The cross is an example of pain and injustice, a reminder of the world’s brokenness. It’s common to think of Jesus as a martyr for a righteous cause, to see him as a man who stood for what he believed to be true, even if it meant he had to die.

But several aspects of Jesus’s death don’t fit the martyr story. Consider Socrates, the great philosopher who, 400 years before Jesus was born, was forced to drink poison. All accounts show Socrates accepting his fate, refusing to delay the moment. One witness says that he took the cup “most easily and gently, without the least fear or change of color or feature.” In contrast, Jesus didn’t calmly approach his death with serenity and composure. In the garden of Gethsemane, he flinched. He was in agony. He wasn’t like Socrates, refusing to delay the drinking of the poison. No, Jesus cried out for God to take this cup of suffering away from him. On the cross, he screamed: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46 CSB).

According to the Bible, there was more going on in Jesus’s crucifixion than just physical torture and a martyr’s death. All the evil of this world was coming upon Jesus as he took the weight of human sin upon himself, as he sensed the awful judgment of God toward sin, and as he absorbed God’s holy and righteous anger, to be crushed by the curse. Jesus is unlike other martyrs. He doesn’t fit the category. Jesus didn’t die for a cause; he died for the world (1 Peter 2:24).

What does the cross mean, then, if more than a story of martyrdom? The answers are inexhaustible, but we can offer a few. First, the cross is where Jesus died for us, in our place, taking on himself the punishment we deserved. Second, the cross is where evil was unmasked and conquered, where the victory over sin and death was accomplished. Third, the cross is where we see the height and depth of God’s love for humanity, in that the Son was willing to suffer with us and for us to bring us back to God. Fourth, the cross marks out the formation of a new people who will display the self-giving love of God in self-sacrificial ways, a new community united by the blood of Jesus shed for our sins.

Jesus went to the cross as Israel’s Messiah, bringing to a climax Israel’s story of redemption (Galatians 3:13). From the opening pages of Scripture, God promised to send a deliverer. Here at the cross is the fulfillment of the sacrificial system, when Jesus became the Great High Priest and the sacrifice for sin. Here at the cross is the culmination of Israel’s long line of imperfect kings, when Jesus the Servant King was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. Here at the cross is the divine prophet all the other prophets foretold, the embodiment of God’s Word, the Suffering Servant who took upon himself our iniquity (Isaiah 53:4-6). Jesus’s death doesn’t just give us an inspiring vision of martyrdom or a beautiful picture of sacrifice. It gives us forgiveness and victory.

Reflection Questions

How does the truth of Jesus’s death on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins shape your understanding of God’s love and forgiveness? Reflect on the significance of Jesus taking on the weight of human sin and God’s judgment. How does this deepen your appreciation for God’s love and the forgiveness offered through Jesus?

In what ways does the cross challenge your perspective on suffering and sacrifice? Consider how Jesus’s willingness to endure suffering and sacrifice for the sake of humanity contrasts with modern views on avoiding pain and seeking personal gain. How does this shift your understanding of suffering?