In Christ we find the One who understands 2 of the most vital aspects of our humanity - our need for acceptance and the issue of our sin. That deep longing of the human heart to be accepted, to be fully known and to still be accepted - Christ offers this to us. At the same time, we see His accurate assessment of the plague within our soul: sin. We see that He is able to identify in us the ability to do, feel, and think so much that is simply wrong. Christ not only identifies the symptoms of the sin, but He also identifies that unless something within us is transformed by Him, we cannot escape ourselves, and the plague of sin will eventually bring for both physical and spiritual death.
Today, we consider how Christ deals with these issues, and to do this we look to the Cross. Historically, the cross represents disgrace and shame. John Stott's book The Cross of Christ is a classic treatment of this topic, and he notes that when early Christians identified a cross as the central symbol of the Christian faith, they were mocked by the surrounding culture. How could a symbol of humiliation and suffering be the way to draw in new converts? The mistake they made, however, was that the idea of the Christian faith was not about growing a religion - it was and is about the transformation of the soul.
The simple fact that in Christ, the Son of God - equal with God (Phil. 2) - came to live and die for the sins of humanity makes the Christian faith completely unique when contrasted to the religions of the world. No other religion offers such a radical idea of redemption, let alone the need for such a radical redemption. The Cross alone is unique. Supplement that with the fact that the very Son of God died upon that Cross and we see that the Christian faith approaches the whole notion of what it means to be spiritual in a completely singular way.
First, the Cross shows us that God will not capitulate. He does not look at our disease of sin and simply turn a blind eye. He cannot do this, for it would impinge on His very character (for He is completely just). The example often used to describe this need for justice is a simple one, but the truth rings through. A man is convicted of a crime. He stands before the judge and says, "Judge, you are a good man, a kind man, a fair man. Because of this I think you should let me off with no punishment." The judge looks at the man and says, "You are right about at least one thing - I am a good man, and because I am good, I cannot let your crimes go unpunished." This makes sense to us in an earthly way, doesn't it? If people committed criminal acts, we would likely not look highly upon a judge who let every person off without any punishment. And so in the Cross, we see the justice of God.
Secondly, we see in the Cross the deep love of God. Romans 5 reads "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." God was not fooled into sending Jesus to the Cross. He did not think that people were righteous and therefore conclude that they deserved the sacrifice of His Son. In fact, we read again and again in the Scriptures that God realized we were sinners, alienated from Him, at enmity with God - and yet He still offered us the longing of our hearts: acceptance, forgiveness, and understanding. In the Cross we find the full expression of God's love for humanity.
Consider that in other world religions God is distant, or in some religions there is no God and all that we see is deemed an illusion, or in other religions we are never sure if we've done enough good or if we have been made right. The Cross stands in stark contrast to the other religious systems of the world because God showed that He remains faithful to His character while at the same time offering humanity all that it needs to live as He intended. Upon the Cross, Christ dealt with our need for acceptance and He dealt with our sin.
-tC
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