Friday, December 10, 2010

Sin and the Cross

I don’t know about you but when I am troubled and need some time with the Lord I go to the cross of Jesus. I kneel down and think about the pain he endured before the cross and after the cross. The Roman soldiers had beaten Him so badly that they say He was unrecognizable. And to make matters worse Jesus had to carry His own cross.
When I really think about this it brings me to tears at the torment and torture our Lord Jesus Christ had to endure just for us. I often think about the bearing of the whole world’s sins in His body and what that might have felt like. Just my sins alone would have killed Him but the whole world’s sins! Every slanderous deed, every malicious act, all the murders committed and rapes. That’s a lot of sin to bear.
This brought me to some questions about the “sin issue”. In the Bible it says that Jesus never sinned, but it also says that “Jesus became sin”. I didn’t understand this and asked a friend to explain it to me. I asked my friend if Jesus never sinned but became sin was He the man who flew the plane into the World Trade Center? Did He become the man who robbed a bank only to shoot the bank guard who had a wife and couple of kids? Was He the murderer, a thief or the Government officials who withheld food from their countrymen? And was He the drug dealer selling drugs to kids? I didn’t quit understand the statement that “He became sin” and what that really meant. I mean think about it and what it means to you that “Jesus became sin”.
No! By no means did Christ ever sin! My friend told me that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Jesus bore our sins in His body and took on our sins but no He wasn’t the man who flew the plane into the World Trade Center or the man who did any kind of wicked deed. Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the whole world so that we would be reconciled to God. He never sinned and though He became sin only means that He carried our sins so that we might believe in Him and have eternal life.
What a wonderful and precious act of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Whenever I go to the cross with Him I weep at the thought of what He did for me. He didn’t become me in my sinful nature He only carried my sins in His body so they would no longer count against me. Isn’t that amazing! He did it not only for me but for you as well. Jesus had a purpose when He came down to this dark world. His purpose was to die for us and to be resurrected so that we can live. He only did what His Father told Him to do. And He did it well. There was no deceit found in His mouth. He healed the sick and gave sight to the blind not only the blind man but to men who were blinded by the truth.
This brings me to the time when Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane. He prayed that the Father take this cup from Him but His will be done not mine. He was so distraught over the cross that He sweated drops of blood. Can you imagine the pain and torment He went through because of the cross? In the end, like any man Jesus was afraid to die. Here, Jesus had taken his disciples to the garden to pray because he had a sorrowful heart. Jesus was afraid to die! The moment had finally come for what he was born for but this scared him. To be crucified was the worst way to die known to man at that time, and it was scary! But even though He was afraid to die, He humbled Himself and did what he was sent to do. This is a great example of obedience towards the Father. This is how we should be obedient to God to do His will and not ours.
I am so grateful for the cross of Jesus. He saved my life and many others. If you too are confused about the statement of “Jesus became sin” or the sin issue, you can find books that explain this issue. Please visit my website at www.truelifelivingbooks.com.
Thank you and God Bless…