Moments with the minister: What the cross meant to Jesus

Psalm 22 was written over a thousand years before Jesus would die on a cross. It was written by David, a shepherd, a songwriter, a warrior, and the second king of Israel who was a man after God’s own heart. But the amazing thing about this song or poem is how spot on it is even though it was written so long before Christ died. These weren’t generic or general statements that David made as he expressed what almost certainly appears to be what would’ve been Christ’s innermost thoughts about the cross He bore for us.

As we begin to discuss all the aspects of what the cross meant to Jesus, it first meant that he would be forsaken by his own heavenly father. Imagine, the incarnate son of God, sinless, who was always about his father’s business, who walked with God unhindered from the womb to the cross, and then on that fateful Friday being forsaken by God because you chose to do his will, and bore the sins of the entire world upon your own back. The cross meant that Jesus, the sinless one, would be forsaken by God because he would become sin for us.

Some might assume that such suffering would change Christ’s view of God. Some certainly in our own day, when faced with great suffering become cynical towards God. Not Jesus however. He entrusted himself to the Father. Christ saw his father as the great deliverer of Israel, and he understood that his death would deliver billions of people, not just temporarily, but eternally.

The cross also meant that Jesus would be despised and rejected by men, by his own people, and even now many still despise and reject him. Christ understood how foolish it must look to save a world by dying for it. He understood that he would become a byword, a curse on the lips of men, and even today men still use His name in their cursings. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief, and we did not esteem him as God.

The cross certainly meant that Jesus would be surrounded by people who just a week before shouted his praises, and now they are fickle, and are yelling crucify him! The cross meant for Jesus physical suffering unlike any of us have ever or will ever experience. He was poured out like a drink offering: from the whipping that ripped off his flesh, to the crown of thorns that caused the blood to flow down his face, and to the nails in his hands and feet. Jesus was poured out and drained of his own blood like no one ever before him. Mel Gibson made his "Passion of the Christ" a very bloody film, and the truth is, he was probably historically right in doing so. Christ was stretched out on the cross, and his bones, though not broken, may have certainly been pulled out of socket when he was jolted down as the cross fell into place. His heart melted like wax, David wrote. I can’t imagine the weight of the world’s sin upon one sinless heart like Christ’s, but they say a Roman soldier stuck a spear in his side after Christ died, and blood and water flowed. For that to happen, Christ’s heart would have had to have had a massive heart attack, an internal explosion of sorts, in which Christ’s heart melted inside of him as he bore our sins upon Himself.

I know he could have called for help. He even told his disciples he could have in Matthew 26:53, but He didn’t. He didn’t call on 72,000 angels to save him ( or 12 legions of angels). He silently voiced his prayers unto his father, and committed himself to him.

But even though the cross meant all of these things for our Messiah, it also meant glory. Christ told his disciples, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto myself.” You see the one who was despised by all, will most certainly one day soon be praised all. For at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and every tongue will declare him Lord. David writes in his Psalm 22 that the people of Jacob will praise him, and the families of the nations will worship him. There is a glory to the cross of Christ for without it - you and I could not be saved. Yes, the resurrection of Jesus is extremely important, but so is the cross. For without him dying, you and I would still be dead in our trespasses and sins. And the glory of the cross is even revealed in heaven for when we see Jesus in eternity we will also see his scars, and there we will all sing of how Christ finished it all on Calvary. He finished the work that needed to be done. What can you do to save yourself oh sinners, only one thing - repent of your sins, and trust in the finished work of Christ on Calvary.” It is finished just as he said.

Brian Taylor began his ministry as a young man on the foreign mission field of Togo, West Africa serving with the International Mission Board of the SBC. He spent almost a decade serving as a music and youth minister in the Panhandle of Texas. He loves preaching and pastoring on the southside of Sherman. He has been married to his wife Sarah for 17 years, and they have five children. The views and opinions expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Herald Democrat.

This article originally appeared on Herald Democrat: Moments with the minister: What the cross meant to Jesus