The Cross—a Symbol of Suffering, Service, and Salvation (March 29, 2024)

“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.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Representing the hope of everlasting life that is offered to all who trust in Jesus Christ, the cross is the most prominent symbol of Easter and Christianity. First, the Cross of Christ is a symbol of our Savior’s suffering. We cannot comprehend the excruciating pain and shame that Jesus endured at Calvary for you and me. He was brutally beaten, whipped, spat upon, scourged, insulted, mocked, and disfigured. Our LORD’s body was pierced for our sake—a crown of thorns was thrust into His head, penetrating flesh to the skull, and iron spikes nailed Him and our sins to that tree, causing Christ unbearable agony. Jesus’ suffering on an old wooden cross was unspeakable. But He did it for us. He did it out of love for you and me!

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

Secondly, the Cross is symbolic of Christ’s servanthood! Jesus performed the greatest act of service in the history of mankind when He willingly died to obediently fulfill the purpose for which God the Father sent His beloved and only begotten Son into this sin-ravaged world, not to condemn, but to save humanity. Separated from our just and righteous heavenly Father by our sins, Jesus rescued us from the grips of spiritual death and gave those who believe in Him the assurance of an eternal heavenly home after our earthly lives. Christ became the supreme servant because God wills that none should perish in hell forever separated from His divine presence. That’s why He did it for us. He did it out of love for you and me!

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:5-7)

Above all, the Cross is the symbol of our salvation as believers! When Jesus declared in agony just before He died: “It is finished.” (John 19:30), He proclaimed the faithful completion of the sacrificial work His Father had given Him to do. Jesus paid in full the sin debt owed by mankind, converting the cross from a symbol of suffering and servanthood to a redemptive bridge that spans the gulf separating lost souls from a righteous God. Christ reconciled all who choose to turn from their sins in repentance to the heavenly Father for forgiveness and liberated them from the penalty of death, the consequence of sin. Jesus shed His blood on that cross to secure our eternal salvation. Surely, He did it for us. He did it out of love for you and me!