Sue’s Views
As we approach Easter weekend ….. I want to focus on the Cross of Christ. The Cross has become a well recognised symbol of Christianity ….. with many different versions. They are hung around necks ….. hung on walls ….. and erected in graveyards and where loved ones have met their demise on the roads. Some are very elaborate ….. made in gold ….. jade ….. and other precious materials. Some have the figure of Jesus still on them ….. others are empty. Many have become a fashion accessory! The Cross of Christ was most likely rough ….. just two pieces of wood nailed together. They were a common sight! Jesus wasn’t the first to be crucified. It was the means of execution for murderers ….. thieves ….. and extortioners. But Jesus was the only man to be crucified and then raised back to life! That’s why the Christian symbol of the Cross is empty! What Jesus went through was horrific ….. but He was willing to do it for our sake. Someone had to pay the penalty for our wrongdoing. Someone who was sinless. Someone who met the requirements for a perfect sacrifice. No one but Jesus could do that!
“Yet it was our grief he bore, our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, for his own sins! But he was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace; he was lashed—and we were healed! We—every one of us—have strayed away like sheep! We, who left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet God laid on him the guilt and sins of every one of us!” Isaiah 53: 4-6
