Jesus was the kind of man who could go for 40 days without food or water. He could pray over a two-piece fish dinner, multiply it, and feed 5,000 people.
Jesus could calm the sea with a word and walk on top of the water. He'd lay His hands on the blind and they'd cry, "I can see!" Deaf ears opened, the lame walked and the dead came alive at the word of Jesus Christ.And yet, for all His amazing miracles and for all of His revolutionary teaching, He could not grab and keep the attention of the world on His miracle and teaching ministry alone.
Jesus knew this and that's why He said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32).
The cross was God's plan. It was a horrible spectacle; an open show of what had to be done in order to eradicate the sin of mankind. It was the suffering that Jesus agreed to endure for you and me. And it was Jesus' suffering and resurrection that we celebrate at Easter.
Not only did the cross get the attention of those who saw Jesus' hands and feet nailed to the wood that day, but it has continued to draw the attention of millions across the world for over 2,000 years. I call it the Magnetism of the Cross.
A Symbol of Shame Becomes a Symbol of Hope and Redemption
Jesus was born to die. He was innocent from His birth to His death. He led a sinless, blameless, and faith-filled life. He was pure and holy, and His efforts in ministry were only to help people, to teach them truth and to heal and set them free. Yet, the people turned on Him and demanded He be put to the worst death.
You see, today the cross is a reminder of the great sacrifice Jesus made for mankind. But during the days of Jesus, the cross wasn't an icon to be revered. It was a symbol of shame. It was the final destination of society's worst offenders.
Not only would the local authorities nail a criminal's hands and feet to the cross, but they'd also take the suffering a step further by standing the cross up in a public place or on a well-traveled road. This humiliated the criminal and was a way for the government to deter crime.
The cross shouldn't have been the final destination of God's Son, a sinless and innocent Man. Yet, in John 18:37 when Jesus was being questioned by Pilate before going to the cross He said, "...To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world...."
Jesus didn't want to suffer, but He knew that life is in the blood and without the shedding of blood, there could be no atonement for sin (Lev. 17:11). The cross was the price Jesus had to pay because of our sin, and it was something He agreed to do before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20).
From Unbelief to Faith
Before I discovered the cross and the hope in His resurrection power, I was full of hate, unbelief and indifference. But when I stood at the foot of the cross on September 4, 1974, the blood of Jesus washed away all hatred, indifference and unbeliefand that set me free!
I recognized the sin in my own life, and then saw what Jesus did for me. I knew I was a sinner. I didn't need anybody to tell me that! But, nobody cared enough to die for me and to show that kind of love except Jesus.
The cross was drawing me from the time I was a small boy. But I was running from it because I was looking at the religious world and seeing the cross as just an icon or a symbol of rigid church. But it's not.
And the day I saw the reality of Jesus, it became my salvation day! I haven't looked back since, and I haven't let the joy of my salvation wane. It's just as fresh for me today as it was the day I said, "If there is such a thing as a God, come into my life. Jesus, save me."
The redeeming blood of Jesus washed my sin away with a simple prayer, because it was a prayer I sincerely meant and a sacrifice I knew I could never make on my own. I couldn't pay for my own sins if I was good from then on out!
It wasn't God's plan for me to pay my own way. It was His plan that I accept His Son. I needed the work of the cross!
Jesus made me clean. He can do the same thing for anybody who'll stop and take a good, hard look at that cross. It's not a religious Easter experience—it's the magnetism of the cross at work.
We were created to know God and communicate with Him. Without Him, we're lost and confused. With Him, we have His organization at our fingertips. We don't have to make a plan to save ourselves. He's already made a plan in Jesus Christ. We just have to accept that plan as truth and say, "God, I realize I need Your plan."
But if we rely on ourselves, disobey His Word and go our own way, He's got a plan to get us back on track. No matter what a person does, they can't stray far enough away that God doesn't have an organized plan to get them back home!
That's why we're drawn to the cross like a magnet. It's our answer, even when we don't know the question! Even when we don't want an answer, we know that there is truth in the work of the cross. What Jesus did at the cross is like a fresh, hot bath for a filthy person. That kind of purity makes you recognize your own dirt!
If you've never accepted God's plan for your redemption, just ask Him for forgiveness and tell Him you're going to commit your life to His plan. You don't have to worry if it's a good plan or not. God doesn't make bad plans. His ways are better than what you can think up. His plans are better than you can decide. Following God is the best thing you can do in life.
When you come face to face with the reality of what Jesus did at the cross, and His resurrection three days later, it'll change your unbelief into faith. It will change your indifference into devotion. It will change your hatred into love.
It doesn't matter if you are Catholic or Protestant. What matters is if you know Jesus or not. Have you made that journey to the cross?
Why the Cross?
Mankind betrayed God and chose to sin; yet God chose to make a way for us to come back home through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. That's the Easter message we should be telling others about all year around!
The cross made a spectacle out of society's worst offenders. Jesus was society's greatest gift and yet, He chose to bear the sins of the world and become a spectacle of shame. He did it for you and He did it for me.
He took our place and paid the price so that we wouldn't have to pay for our sin. I believe that the cross gave us a true idea what length God would go to in order to make a way for us to become righteous.
There is no place too dark where God doesn't go with usand He illuminates the dark place for us and makes a way for our escape. Jesus said:
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.All You Have to Do(Matt. 11:28-30)
If you don't know Jesus as Lord today, I'd like to introduce you to Him. All you have to do is accept His sacrifice. All you have to do is reach out to Him.
Believe in your heart and say with your mouth that He is Lord (Rom. 10:9). See that cross in your mind and realize that magnitude of what was done for you. That price was so high. It is free to you today, but it definitely didn't come cheap!
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.You can know everything about church traditions and the Easter holiday but still not know God. Religious traditions will not change you. But when you stand at the foot of the cross and say, "Father come into my life and forgive me of all my sins" you will be changed.
(John 3:16-17)
Today, Jesus is no longer hanging on that cross. He died and rose from the dead. Now, He is seated at the right hand of God in Heaven where He makes prayerful intercession for you and me.
He's done the work; He's taken all the sin, guilt and shame. Now, all you have to do is accept His sacrifice and receive what He died to give you—life!
Choose Jesus today. Accept His sacrifice. If you ask for forgiveness, you'll be forgiven no matter what you've done. The blood of Jesus will wash away your past, present and future sin; it will make you clean on the inside so your life can start to change on the outside.
Like He did for me, God will turn your hatred into love, your unbelief into faith and your indifference into devotion. God will move into your heart in an instant and the magnetism of the cross will begin to shine through you!
The magnetism of the cross—it's still working today!
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