Across the Finish Line

The Cross: A Deeper Understanding of Christ's Sacrifice
By Stacy Long

When we think of the cross, what comes to mind? For many of us, we envision Jesus hanging there, bearing the weight of our sins. While this image isn't wrong, it's only part of a much larger, more profound truth. Recent reflections have challenged us to see beyond this partial understanding and grasp a more mature revelation of what Jesus truly accomplished.

The cross isn't just about a moment in time; it's about a lifetime of sacrifice and redemption that spans from Christ's incarnation to His resurrection and beyond. This fuller understanding has the power to transform everything in our lives, freeing us from bondage and opening our eyes to the magnificent scope of God's love and plan for humanity.

Let's start by examining a familiar verse: "By His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Many of us have interpreted this to mean that Jesus' physical scourging paid for our healing. However, a deeper look at Scripture and early church teachings reveals a more expansive truth.

In Matthew 8:16-17, we read:

"When evening came, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 'He himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.'"

Interestingly, Matthew attributes healing not to the stripes Jesus endured during His crucifixion, but to His entire earthly ministry. This points us towards a more holistic view of Christ's atoning work.

Isaiah 53 paints a vivid picture of the Messiah's life:

"He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief...
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried..."

The Hebrew word used for "acquainted" (yadah) implies experiential knowledge. Jesus didn't just observe human suffering from afar; He intimately experienced it. He knew rejection, abandonment, sorrow, and grief firsthand. Moreover, He didn't just experience these things for Himself but carried the weight of all humanity's brokenness.

This brings us to a revolutionary concept: When God became incarnate in Jesus, He didn't just become a man; He became, in a sense, all of mankind. Just as all humanity was present in Adam when he fell, so too were we all present in Christ, the second Adam, when He lived, died, and rose again.

The Apostle Paul grasped this profound truth when he declared:

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

This isn't just poetic language; it's a radical statement of spiritual reality. We weren't just beneficiaries of Christ's work; we were participants in it. His perfect life became our perfect life. His death became our death. His resurrection became our resurrection.

This understanding reshapes how we view our relationship with God. We're not merely forgiven sinners granted a clean slate; we're new creations, united with Christ in His victory over sin and death. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

This truth has profound implications for how we live:

1. Freedom from fear and shame: When we truly grasp that we died with Christ and have been raised to new life in Him, we no longer need to fear God's wrath or live in shame over our past failures.

2. Victory over sin: Our old sinful nature was crucified with Christ. We're no longer slaves to sin but empowered to live in righteousness.

3. Healing and wholeness: Jesus didn't just pay for our healing; He became our healing. As we embrace our union with Him, we can walk in divine health—spirit, soul, and body.

4. Sonship and acceptance: We're not just forgiven enemies; we're beloved children. As Jesus is loved by the Father, so are we loved.

5. Authority and purpose: We're seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), sharing in His authority and called to be His ambassadors on earth.

This understanding of the atonement, sometimes called Christus Victor (Christ the Victor), sees Jesus' work not primarily as a legal transaction to appease an angry God, but as a cosmic victory over the powers of sin, death, and the devil. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus absorbed all the evil and brokenness of the world, disarmed the enemy, and emerged triumphant.

Colossians 2:13-15 beautifully summarizes this victory:

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."

As we meditate on these truths, we're invited to see ourselves differently. When we look at the cross, we should see not just Jesus hanging there, but ourselves crucified with Him. When we consider His resurrection, we should recognize our own new life bursting forth.

This isn't just theological abstraction; it's a living reality that can transform our daily experience. We're no longer defined by our failures, weaknesses, or past sins. We're defined by our union with Christ. We're new creations, prototypes of a redeemed humanity walking the earth as gateways of heaven.

The challenge before us is to align our thinking and living with this incredible truth. It may not feel true at first, but feelings don't determine reality—God's Word does. As we choose to believe and act on these truths, our experience will gradually catch up with our position in Christ.

So let's make this declaration: "My old self is dead. It's been in the grave for 2,000 years. I've been raised with Christ. I'm seated in Him, and He's living in me. The old me doesn't exist anymore. I'm something the world has never seen before—I'm one with Jesus."

As we embrace this mature understanding of Christ's work, may we walk in the fullness of all He has accomplished, bringing His light and life to a world in desperate need of hope and transformation.

(This blog was created from Stacy Long's original sermon using pulpit.ai)