Why the Cross? - Part 4

Remember those five important truths that we learn from the cross:[1]

1.      The cross shows us what God thinks of sin.

2.      The cross is God’s provision of salvation for sinners.

3.      The cross is a revelation of God’s love.

4.      The cross proves that there is only one way of being saved and coming to God.

5.      The cross proves that Jesus’ claims are genuine.

The last three articles have dealt with the first three truths, and this article will focus on the fourth one: The cross proves that there is only one way of being saved and coming to God.

Today it is rather fashionable and respectable to be religious. Public events are often opened by religious leaders. Prayers are offered in school assemblies. Newspapers quote inspirational sayings from religious writings. But it is very unfashionable to say that any one religion is right, or better than another. The religious leaders who open the public events are carefully chosen so as to represent the range of religions. Prayers offered in schools are framed in such a way as to be acceptable to any religion - or so it is thought. The newspapers are careful to make a representative selection from the scriptures of various religions. In every case, the unspoken message is heard loud and clear: being religious is good, but don’t think that one is better than another; all religions lead to God so it doesn’t matter whether you are a Muslim, Jew, Christian, Hindu or New-Ager.

Let us now examine this idea in the light of historical facts, and especially the fact of Jesus’ death on the cross. The gospel of Mark records Jesus’ crucifixion and death like this:

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). … And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get ... At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.   And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” - which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ...  With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.   The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (from Mark 15:22-38 NIV)

This is a historical record based on the testimony of eye-witnesses.

Notice the words with which Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Throughout His life Jesus had lived in intimate closeness to God. He had always been in close fellowship with His Father. But here on the cross He knew that He had been cut off from His Father. We saw in Part 1 of this series that Jesus was cut off from God because he was bearing the sins of the world. When the perfect Son of God took on Himself the sins of men, God poured out His wrath on His Son because God cannot endure sin; He will always punish it.

But notice also what happened after Jesus died. “The curtain of the temple was torn in two.” The tearing of this curtain showed that the way into the temple - i.e. God’s presence - was now open. Because of Jesus’ death people can now come into the presence of God. Sin, which had always blocked the way to a holy God, had now been dealt with. And notice that the curtain was torn from top to bottom: it was not torn by any person, but by God Himself. Through His death, Jesus opened the way into God’s presence.

Now how does this historical event show that there is only one way of coming to God? It shows that a person’s sin must be paid for before he or she can come into God’s presence. The penalty for sin is separation from God - as Jesus was forsaken on the cross. Only by putting our trust in Jesus Christ and becoming His disciples can we avoid being separated from God because of our sin - a separation which will last forever in hell.

When we look at the cross, it is just impossible to think that we can bypass Jesus Christ and yet draw near to God through living a good life or following certain religious customs or rituals. Either we pay for our own sins in hell, or we trust Jesus Christ to bear them for us; there is no third option. All the religions, apart from Christianity, teach that a person can come to God, without Jesus Christ, by following certain moral principles or certain religious rituals, or some combination of the two. In other words, we can make our own way to God. But this idea is refuted by the cross.

To put the matter quite simply, if God thought that we could draw near to Him without the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, the history of our world would be different to what it is. That dark day in Palestine, when Jesus in agony cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” would simply never have occurred. It would not have been necessary. And that is why Jesus said:

He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him (John 5:23).

_________________

There is a green hill far away,
Outside a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.

There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven and let us in.