The Cross

What it means

The cross is the place where the eternal Son of God, having taken our flesh, was crucified under Pontius Pilate and bore in His own body the full penalty due to sinners. There God's holy justice against sin and His saving love for sinners meet, for the cross is not a tragic accident but the deliberate plan of God, by whose set purpose Christ was delivered up (Acts 2:23). On it Christ became a curse for us, hanging on the tree to redeem us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), and He who knew no sin was made sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is the great exchange: our guilt laid on Him, His righteousness credited to us, so that God is both just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26). What looks like weakness and folly to the world is in truth the power and wisdom of God for salvation (1 Corinthians 1:18, 23-24).