It is the Who that Matters

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

The cross of Christ appears unimportant to many cultures today mainly because of the time of its occurrence. “How could the death of a Jewish carpenter on a Roman cross two thousand years ago effect my life today?” This reasoning confuses the significance of the cross.

When Christ died is not the central issue. In God’s timing He was crucified about A.D. 30, but He could have died in 100 B.C. or in 1943 - had the Father so purposed.

How Christ died is not the essential meaning either. He died on a cross, but had God desired, His Son could have died another way.

The timeless meaning of the cross is that Christ, the Son of God, died there. Only God Himself was qualified to be a man’s substitute on Calvary. It was Who was executed that is significant. God in the flesh, Jesus the Messiah, was the single, sinless sacrifice Who could bear our sins.

The death and resurrection of God’s only Son made fellowship with the Father possible again. Jesus did not have to suffer - but he had to die, for death was the penalty for sin. The cross is relevant for every man, woman, and child in every age because there the eternal God died on our behalf so that we might receive His gift of everlasting life.

“...offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.” Hebrews 10:12