The Road to the Cross & the Greatest Comeback

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucifed Him, and with Him two other men, one of either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, "Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews."

—John 19:17-19

The Road to the Cross was Lonely...

The road to the cross was lonely, yet the Saviour walked that lonely road for us. He carried His cross, He died in agnoy, yet His live for humanity carried Him through. He died for you and me.

Usually, Jesus was surrounded by people, often by crowds. He taught them, healed them, cared for them, fed them, directed them and always loved them. Yet the road to the cross was lonely. He carried that cross to the place of crucifixion, the place of His death. It was lonely, yet on that lonely road He was again surrounded by crowds. But this time they were not celebrating the Messiah with palm tree branches and shouts of 'Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,' but rather with cries of 'crucify Him!' and 'let Him save Himself.' Yet He didn't come to save Himself; He came to save those lost in sin and in need of salvation. The road to the cross was a lonely path, yet Jesus still took it—and He knew why…

He was betrayed, denied, rejected, abandoned, lied about, falsely accused, and not given a fair trial; He was spat upon, beaten, mocked, slandered and despised. He was marred more than any man, even beyond recognition. Yet all this didn't stop the Saviour from walking this lonely road to the cross. People didn't understand Him and shook their heads at Him, yet He knew He had to walk that lonely road to His death. He knew why He had to die on that cross that day: forgiveness of sins would come no other way. He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. The chastisement for our peace was laid upon Him. He was bruised for our iniquities, smitten for our sins. The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all and by His stripes we are healed, by His blood we are forgiven. We are transferred from the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of His Son of love (see Isaiah 52:13—53:7; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:13-14).

The Divine Exchange at the Cross

He was led away like a lamb to the slaughter, yet that Lamb carried the sins of the world (John 1:29). For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despised the shame and took the pain (Hebrews 12:1-2). The Saviour died for us: the Just for the unjust, the righteous One for the sinners, the holy One for the fallen ones. Jesus died for you and me—for all of us, for all of humanity. He died to bring us back to God. We were like sheep without a Shepherd, lost in our wanderings and gone astray (1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:18). He even died for those who betrayed, condemned and crucified Him. He died for all. They released Barabbas instead of Christ: the guilty one was freed instead of the innocent One, because the innocent One took the place of the guilty one—that's the Gospel! Barabbas deserved death, yet got life and freedom; Jesus deserved justice, yet got death and punishment. It's the 'divine exchange' at the cross. They killed His body, but couldn't kill His love for humanity. The love of the Saviour cannot be removed, just as the love of a father never dies. The love of God knew no limits.

For God loved the world in such a way that He sent the Saviour to take the punishment the world deserved (John 3:16-17). God didn't abandon humanity in their suffering and helplessness. He didn't want to let the world go to hell—He made a way so people could enter Heaven. They took away His dignity, yet He restored back dignity to humanity: He sought to show humanity what they are worth to God. The value of something is defined by the price one is willing to pay—Jesus paid the highest price by giving His life. This shows us that we are of infinite value to God—you are precious, valuable, you are priceless!

Jesus offers us a way of salvation, a way to escape guilt and misery, a way to overcome sin and death, a way from darkness into light, from hate into love, from shame into forgiveness. The way God loved the world was by sending the Saviour to die on the cross to bear our sin and the punishment for it, so that we can have eternal life. God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but that it would be saved by His death and justified by His resurrection. But why? God demonstrated His love for us in that Christ died while we were still sinners. Would a good man die for the ungodly? Perhaps for a righteous man, yes, but for a sinner? Hope doesn't disappoint (Romans 5:1-8). God hasn't let us down. Even if we were faithless, God remains faithful; He cannot deny who He is.

God's love is greater than our failure; Christ's blood is stronger than our sin; His forgiveness is more powerful than our trespasses. Light will always prevail over darkness, love will always conquer hatred, and life will always overcome death! The Son is the Saviour, the Master is the Messiah. He came to teach, to heal, to feed and care—yet He ultimately came to die for our sins. The Saviour died to save us, the Redeemer came to redeem us, the Messiah came to deliver us. The road to the cross was lonely, yet He did it for us. He walked to Calvary for us. He knew why He had to and it was all worth it—and He'd do it again, although He does not need to, for His death paid the price once and for all.

He looked like a defeated pretender, yet He was our victorious Saviour. He looked like a condemned Deceiver, yet He was the powerful Deliverer. He died during Passover, yet He was the Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God who took on Himself the sins of the world. He would lead His people out from the slavery of sin into the glorious freedom of the sons of God. It looked like His mission had failed in death and defeat, yet He accomplished what God sent Him to do by His death, a death that was to be the ultimate victory over all defeat. All seemed lost, yet everything was won. It looked hopeless, yet hope would arise from the grave. His resurrection was the power of God to give life to overcome death. The Saviour came to give new life and eternal life—His blood speaks for us, His love fights for us, and His faithfulness is ever with us! The Saviour walked this lonely road to the cross, yet He knew why—to die for you and me. God is love, Jesus is Saviour, and there is Hope—and divine hope doesn't disappoint.

The Resurrection is the Greatest Comeback in History…

The Saviour was crucified, the Messiah died—all hope seemed lost. Yet the resurrection proved to be the greatest comeback in history. Death was not the end; the resurrection was the new beginning. Christ died, Christ rose from the dead. He died for our sins, He rose for our justification. He died so we can live. The cross was love in action; the resurrection was power in action.

The death of Christ on the cross epitomises the God who confronts evil at His own expense. God took responsibility for our suffering and Jesus carried it on the cross. Jesus died for the sinner, the innocent One carrying the punishment for the evil we committed. The Just died for the unjust; the Saviour died for the sinner; the Redeemer died for those in need of redemption; the Saviour died for those enslaved in sin. He was the Passover Lamb who leads us out of the slavery of sin into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Faith in Christ makes all this possible.

Christ's death was not the last word—the resurrection was. His death seemed to have been the greatest setback in history, only to set up the greatest comeback in history. The crucifixion was the ultimate victory over sin and the resurrection is the ultimate victory over death. The resurrection is the victory over death—death is not the end; it's the beginning of something new. 'O Death where is your sting?' Christ defeated sin on the cross and conquered death in His resurrection. The resurrection is the completion of the redemption—death for the atonement of sin, resurrection for the justification of the believers.

The resurrection is the symbol that not all hope is lost—there is a power greater than the worst things in life. Jesus confronted our suffering by suffering on the cross. He confronted our death by His resurrection from the dead to give us eternal life. The Saviour identifies with the suffering sinner in order to save him by taking his place. Jesus died for you. Death is the consequence of sin, yet Christ offers us the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). The One who knew no sin, took our sin on Him and offers us eternal life (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). He humbled Himself even to the point of death, in order to redeem us, set us free and give us eternal life.

It's a faithful and trustworthy saying, that Christ came to save sinners! No matter what you have done, His blood forgives and His power saves. His love is more powerful than hate, His forgiveness mightier than sin, and His power stronger than death. Nothing can separate you from the love of God—neither death nor life, nor angels or devils, nor past things, nor present things, nor things to come, neither height nor depth, nor anything else (Romans 8:38-39). God’s love is the strongest force in the universe. God demonstrated His love by giving His Son for us; He revealed His power by raising Him from the dead. The Lamb of God died as the sacrificial lamb to the slaughter, yet the Lion of Judah rose as a roaring lion to redeem His people from sin and death. He is humble, yet powerful; He is meek yet strong; He died, yet He lives. The resurrection is the greatest comeback in history. There is hope and divine hope doesn't disappoint.

Christ is Risen! He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25).

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