The Gospel Five

Five Fundamental Truths About Jesus

3. The Cross

Jesus was crucified. The Gospel tells us that Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, the promised and long awaited Messiah, was crucified.

Mark 15:15-26, 33-37
And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him... And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ...And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.

What kind of Savior story is this? Crucifixion was a horrible, painful way to die, yet we glory in the cross. But, it is not the agony that we glory in. We glory in the cross because by dying on the cross Jesus paid our sin debt. By the cross he defeated death. Jesus died: our sins can be forgiven. Jesus died: death no longer has dominion over us. And it is the incarnation that gives the cross infinite value.

This was always the plan. It cannot be said much plainer than Isaiah 53:

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.  
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.  
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.  
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

1 Corinthians 1:23  But we preach Christ crucified...
Christmas leads straight to the cross. The Son of God was born in a manger so he could die on a cross.

Acts 2:22-23 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

But, Why?

Jesus described his purpose:
The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10.45)

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.  
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.  
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.  
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (John 10:11, 17-18)

The Apostles take up this theme:

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried...

1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree... by whose stripes ye were healed.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God...

As we confess in the Apostle’s Creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. 
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;

The Gospel is clear, Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, was crucified. "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." (Ephesians 1:7)