👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾Why #Christ Was #Crucified and Died
(Part 10)
Beloved in the Lord, peace be to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let every soul who hears these words incline the ear of the heart, for we speak not of an earthly thing, but of the mystery by which heaven and earth were reconciled the Cross of our Lord, upon which the salvation of all creation was accomplished.
Through the Cross, we have received reconciliation, redemption, and power. That wood, despised by the world, has become our crown of victory and the weapon of the faithful.
The Cross Is Our Strength and the Power of God
The Cross: Fountain of Power and Glory
“For the word of the Cross is foolishness to those who perish,” says the Apostle Paul, “but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). The Cross is not an ornament of wood or metal; it is the instrument by which death was slain and life restored. The blood that flowed upon it was not the blood of a mere man, but of Him who is both God and Lord. Therefore, the Cross is glorious, not because of its shape or substance, but because upon it the Savior stretched His holy body and poured out His precious blood.
Just as the donkey that bore Christ into Jerusalem was adorned with honor because it carried the King of Glory, so too the Cross, though simple wood, became glorious because it bore the Lord of heaven. Upon it, divine power was revealed. Through it, believers crush the devil, for the prophecy was fulfilled: “He shall crush your head” (Gen. 3:15). This victory was fulfilled upon the Cross. Christ, the second Adam, broke the power of the devil and cast down the dominion of death.
The Cross: the Cross in the Old Testament
Moses, the chief of the prophets, prefigured this mystery. When he stretched out his hands in the form of a Cross, Israel prevailed over her enemies (Exodus 17:11). Likewise, the faithful spiritual Israel gain victory over the demons through the sign of the Cross.
When Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes, crossed his hands to bless the sons of Joseph (Genesis 48:13–20), he too foreshadowed the blessing of the Cross, through which our bodies and souls are sanctified.
The Cross: The Devil’s Defeated Enemy
Even now, the adversary seeks to strip the Church of the Cross, saying mockingly, “Is it not wood? Why do you venerate it?” But the faithful do not honor the material wood or metal but the divine power manifest through it. For in every age, God has chosen visible signs to reveal His might:
The rod of Moses turned water into blood and divided the sea (Exodus 4:14).
The mantle of Elijah parted the Jordan (2 Kings 2:7–14).
The Jordan River healed Naaman of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:1–14).
The oil of anointing restored the sick (Mark 6:13; James 5:14).
The pool of Bete - saida opened the eyes of the blind (John 9:1–12).
The garments of Paul cast out demons and healed diseases (Acts 19:11–12).
If these instruments, touched by grace, became vessels of divine power, how much more the Cross upon which the Blood of God Himself was shed!
The Cross: Our Shield and Boast
As the Psalmist declared, “You have given a sign to those who fear You, that they may flee from the bow, ” (Ps. 59:4–5). The Cross is this sign. It shields us from the arrows of the evil one, it guards the soul, it fortifies the faithful against despair.
So Paul cried out with holy boldness: “God forbid that I should boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). The Cross separates us from the vanity of the world, teaching us to die to sin and live unto righteousness.
Many regard the Cross merely as a symbol but to the faithful it is power, peace, and life. Through it, we are redeemed; by it, we are saved.
Continues 👇🏾