Drama of the Cross

CLAY PECK | Former Adventist Pastor

It was Passover Friday, but it was different from any other Passover the Jews in Jerusalem had ever known. From the moment Judas had covertly accepted 30 pieces of silver from the priests the evening before in exchange for leading them to Jesus for arrest, tumult had reigned. There had been a hurried nighttime hearing in which Jesus had appeared before Annas and Caiaphas, the past and acting high priests, followed by interrogations by Pilate, Herod, and again by Pilate. Jesus had been beaten, scorned, scourged, mocked, and finally had been forced to carry His own cross to Golgotha where He was to die. 

The crowds were angry. People who had heralded Jesus as a King the Sunday before now became part of the mob demanding His death. Roman soldiers carrying out the crucifixion taunted Him while His mother and disciples watched in agony. 

At 12:00 noon unnatural darkness shrouded “all the land” (Matthew 27:45). For three hours the people were bound in horrifying blackness they could not explain while Jesus suffered in private agony no one could share. About 3:00 Jesus uttered the words which hinted at what He had been suffering: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”(Matthew 27:46). 

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people” (Matthew 27:50-53).

All of life changed in that instant. Jesus’ death marked a moment in time when an eternal reality occurred: Jesus’ blood of the New Covenant was shed into eternity, “that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant”(Hebrews 9:15). 

How important is the cross?

There is no Christianity, salvation, or hope for the human race without the cross. The cross is all-important. To understand this importance, however, we must know why Christ died and what His death accomplished.

First, Jesus was not a martyr. A martyr is someone who is killed for his or her faith. The pain and suffering of the cross, as hideous as it was, is not what makes Jesus’ death unique or central to the Christian faith. Jesus went to the cross voluntarily, even deliberately. From the beginning of His public ministry He consecrated himself to this destiny.

Jesus said,

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:11, 17,18).

Second, in spite of what some say, the death of Jesus was not an unfortunate accident. Proponents of this view insist that Jesus was a supreme example but not our substitute and sin-bearer. Jesus’ death, however was both planned and prophesied; it was not an accident.

After Peter’s famous confession of Christ as the Son of God in Matthew 16, the Bible says,

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priest and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Matt. 16:21)

After His resurrection He met with His disciples who were slow to believe and said:

“‘Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:26,27)

The death of Jesus was no accident. Who, then, is responsible for His death?

The Roman soldiers, Pilate, the crowd in Jerusalem, and Judas Iscariot all bear some responsibility for Jesus’ death, but let’s face this thing honestly. None of these people could have killed Jesus if He hadn’t gone to the cross willingly. Remember, He was not a martyr. He said, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down on my own accord” (John 10:18). 

Hebrews 9:26 explains why Jesus died:

“But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26). 

If Jesus died to do away with sin, then our sin took Him to the cross. 

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). 

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree…” (1 Peter 2:24).

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). 

We are responsible for Christ’s death.

Yet there is one more level to this investigation. Because the cross is a result of His loving initiative, God Himself is responsible as well for the death of Christ. The same Greek word (paradidomi) that is used to indicate that Christ was “handed over” by Judas, the priests, and Pilate, is also used in connection with the Son and the Father.

“…I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave (paradontos) himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20)

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up (paredoken) for us all— how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:31,32)

As we face the cross, we can say to ourselves, “I did it; my sins sent Him there,” and “He did it; His love took Him there.”

Why the cross?

As guilty sinners we stood like slaves on the auction block. Jesus paid the highest price for us, purchasing us by His blood, buying us not to be his slaves, but in order to set us free forever. But why was this blood purchase necessary? In Romans 3:25-26 we find a key word that describes and clarifies the meaning of the cross—atonement:

“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

We find this same concept of atonement in 1 John:

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 1:1-2).

This kind of language sounds primitive. Some people don’t like to think of God being offended and needing some kind of propitiation or sacrifice of atonement to appease Him. 

We cannot take the Scriptures seriously as the inspired word of God and try to avoid the doctrine of substitutionary atonement.

There are some who are trying to remove this kind of language from theology today. Their teaching is called the “Moral Influence Theory.” According to this theory, the cross was not necessary. Atonement is pagan and primitive. God doesn’t require any propitiation; Jesus could have saved us without the cross. Since He ended up on a cross due to the cruelty of humans, they argue, it provided an example of His love—that He would be willing to die. When we see His love, it influences us to do good—thus the title: Moral Influence Theory.

This theory is heresy, but it is attractive to some who feel like their own wisdom is superior to the Scriptures. People who hold this view don’t like Paul. They think he corrupted the pure teaching of Jesus. Jesus himself, however, talked about giving His life as a ransom. 

We cannot take the Scriptures seriously as the inspired word of God and try to avoid the doctrine of substitutionary atonement.

Neither can we leave out the idea of Christ’s shed blood being necessary for our forgiveness. 

Rom 5:9—“we have now been justified by his blood…”

Eph 1:7—“In him we have redemption through his blood…”

Col 1:20—“to reconcile to himself all things…by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Rom. 3:25—“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood…”

No matter how offensive it might be to our so-called educated and sophisticated minds, we must deal with this concept. We can’t just tear all these passages out of the Bible. These verses (and others) are not saying that Christ’ death was an unfortunate tragedy. NO! They are saying we are justified by His blood, redeemed through His blood, reconciled through His blood, and atonement is offered through faith in His blood. Jesus laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16). 

Different from paganism

Those uncomfortable with the idea of Jesus’ blood being necessary for forgiveness compare His sacrifice with pagan blood rituals. The atonement that Jesus made at the cross, however, is very different from the pagan views of atonement or propitiation.

Let me show you the difference between paganism and the atonement of Calvary by answering three questions.

1. Why was it necessary?

Atonement was necessary because of God’s wrath against sin.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness (Romans 1:18).

God’s wrath, however, must be distinguished from the anger of the pagan gods or from human anger. God’s wrath is a holy wrath. He does not lose his temper and fly off the handle. His rather is not irrational, arbitrary, or vindictive. 

His wrath is a steady, measured, uncompromising response to all that is evil and wicked. He loves sinners but hates sin. To be consistent with His nature, He cannot tolerate wickedness.

2. Who offered it?

In paganism, humans must do something to placate the offended gods, perhaps offering sacrifices or performing rituals. Humans must do something to appease the divine.

The gospel, however, is completely the opposite of paganism. In fact, the gospel declares that there is nothing we can do to compensate for our sins or to turn away God’s holy wrath. We can’t beg or bribe Him to change His mind. We deserve nothing but judgment.

God, based on his sheer mercy and grace, has taken the initiative to make things right. He himself is the One who offers to give what is required.

“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement…” (Rom. 3:25).

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10).

This divine initiative is the opposite of paganism. God doesn’t give grace because of the atonement, but He provides the atonement because of grace. God doesn’t love us because Jesus died, but Jesus died because God loves us.

3. What was the offering?

The pagans offer vegetables, fruit, minerals, or animals, but God offered a person—and not just any person. He gave Himself. 

2 Corinthians 5:19 says that at the cross, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ.”

The Biblical idea of atonement is completely different from pagan notions. God Himself is at the heart of the atoning sacrifice.

The atonement was necessary! We humans were alienated from God by our sin, and God was alienated from us by His holy wrath. Through Christ’s substitutionary atonement at the cross, however, sin was overcome and God’s wrath was averted. 

Proponents of the Moral Influence Theory say that Christ’s death wasn’t necessary. At the cross we see only a demonstration of love, they say, not a sacrifice of atonement. That theory, though, is not only unbiblical, it is also logically flawed. 

If I said to you, “Hey I want to prove that I love you, so watch this!” I then jump off a curb in front of a moving semi-truck and die. You would not think that act was a demonstration of love; rather, you’d think I was an idiot. 

If, on the other hand, you were about to be run over by that truck, and at the last second I jumped out and pushed you out of the way to save your life while being killed myself, then you would be forever grateful for my love. My love would have been revealed by my giving my life, an act necessary to save you.

Christ revealed His love on the cross when He did what was necessary to save us! The cross was indispensable.

The singular event

As we reflect on the significance of Jesus’ death during this Easter season, we remember that the cross was absolutely necessary in order to atone for our sin and to save us for eternity. Our sin put Jesus on that cross. God could not have pardoned us and given us eternal life without Jesus’ shed blood propitiating for our sin. 

On that Friday afternoon nearly 2,000 years ago, our Creator hung humiliated on a cross outside the city of Jerusalem. As the sky grew black, Jesus experienced the crushing isolation of being separated from His Father. Bearing the sin of humanity from Adam to the end of time, He took the punishment that legally was ours and died instead of us. 

He became sin for us so we could become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). As He died, He forgave our sin, canceled the written code that was opposed to us, disarmed the powers and authorities, and triumphed over them by the cross (Colossians 2:13-15). 

On that day on Golgotha Jesus changed the course of history. By His death He opened a way for us to know God as our Father. He identified Himself with our sin so we could become one with Him. He made it possible for us to be born of the Spirit and to inherit the New Covenant.

May we be filled with gratitude this season as we rejoice anew in the eternal gift of the cross! †

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Clay Peck is Senior Pastor of Grace Place Church in Berthoud, Colorado. Clay planted the church ten years ago as an “evangelical Adventist experiment.” When the group was forced to part company with the Adventist denomination during the first year, Clay helped lead about 150 former Adventists into the freedom and joy of the New Covenant of grace. Grace Place is now a growing nondenominational church with more than 1000 in attendance.

—Originally published in Proclamation!, March/April, 2006.