At the Cross

While the Lord’s crucifixion might have surprised some in Jerusalem, since after all, multitudes had lauded Him as the coming King only a few days before; it should not have been a surprise. Jesus had been saying for quite some time that He would be take, crucified, and would rise from the dead.

Even though the Lord’s crucifixion took place over two-thousand years ago, it is still polarizing and misunderstood by many.

The week which had begun with Jesus riding into Jerusalem and being hailed by multitudes as their Messiah, would end with many of those same people rejecting Him, and asking that a notorious criminal be released, while Jesus being crucified, but not for any sins or crimes He had committed:

Mark 13:6-14

The fact that the Jewish leadership hated Jesus was unsurprising, because His mere existence was a threat to them and their positions.

However, it was the change in the attitude of the people, which would have caused the greatest surprise.

Despite that fact, each aspect was God’s plan all along. It was the Father’s plan that His Son would pay for the sins of man:

Revelation 13:8

That plan was necessary, since sin separates man from God, and therefore, needed to be dealt with.

It was also God’s plan that the crucifixion take place during Passover. While the Jewish nation believed that Passover was all about the historicity of what the Lord had accomplished when He protected His people from the final plague in Egypt (death of all first-born males) and their ultimate escaping slavery in Egypt, the completely missed what Passover was pointing to.

Passover was truly a picture of God’s grace when death was warranted.

But it also pictured how everything that Israelite held dear, could only be fulfilled at Calvary, the Messiah Himself, would pay for sin, by becoming sin:

2 Corinthians 5:21

Even though the cross is greatly polarizing, it’s the greatest picture of God’s love, despite man’s rebellion against Him.

Though misunderstood, and certainly overlooked by many Israelites, it had been long prophesied that the Messiah would bear the sins of the people:

Isaiah 53:4-6

At one point upon the cross, the Father laid all our sins and iniquities upon the Son, and it was at that point, when the Father had to turn away from His Son, meaning that for the first time ever, they could not enjoy fellowship.

It was in that moment of disfellowship, that Jesus cried out, asking why the Father had forsaken Him:

Mark 15:34

The Father however, didn’t react or respond to the Son’s plea, but instead acted on behalf of man, since the Son’s necessary sacrifice had now forever removed the barrier between man and God, exemplified by the veil in the temple being torn from top to bottom:

Mark 15:37-38

The veil had always symbolized the barrier between the holiness of God, and the sinfulness of man.

But now the Son had provided access to the Father, in essence being the only bridge (the only way).