Overview of the Bible -- Part III
A view of the cross --

Romans 3:22-26, 5;6-8 The cross is a demonstration of God's justice in the face of sin. God would not be righteous if He simply looked the other way regarding sin and evil. At the same time, the cross is the greatest demonstration of God's love for us. God loved His enemy -- you and me! We don't like to think of ourselves as having been God's enemies, but all of us, at some time, have lived in opposition to God's will and wisdom. We have chosen our own way, rather than submission to His perfect will. Still, God loves us. Because God loves us, Jesus Christ died for our sins. See also I John 3;16, 4:10

Mark 10:42-25 Jesus understood God's plan for Him to give Himself as a ransom for us -- to die for our sins. He could do this only because of His sinless life and His own love for us.

Matthew 26:36-46 What choice did Jesus make for us in the garden that night? Matthew 20:17-19 Jesus knew this day would come.

Matthew 26:52-54 Jesus chose not to use the power at his disposal. He could have called twelve legions of angels to deliver Him from the situation. Yet, because of His love for us, He did not. John 12:27-28

Matthew 26:59-63, 27:11-14 False witnesses as well as false evidence were brought against Jesus. Yet, Jesus chose to remain silent and not to defend Himself. He did this out of regard for His Father and His love for us.

Matthew 27:27-29 Jesus as a king could have chosen a crown of glory, but instead He chose the crown of thorns. Jesus did this for you and for me.

Matthew 27:38-44 The robbers, the chief priests, the elders of the law and the teachers all mocked Jesus and said, Come down from the cross, if You are the Son of God. Think of the choice Jesus made for us by staying nailed to the cross instead of saving Himself at the time. Yet, Jesus had not come to save Himself; He had come to save us. What an example he set for us in how to love others!

Isaiah 53 Written about 700 years before Jesus, this chapter predicted what the Messiah would do at the cross and why. In Luke 22:37, Jesus quotes from Isaiah and says it was about Him.

Isaiah told us in 53:1-3 that the Messiah would be despised and rejected. In verses 4-6, it says the Messiah would be pierced for our transgressions; in 7-9, the Messiah would be led like a lamb to the slaughter In verse 10-12, the Messiahs would be a guilt offering; but after His suffering, He would receive satisfaction in His resurrection.

Psalm 22 also foreshadowed Jesus' suffering on the cross.

Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:3-8; Luke 15:11-31 We are saved by grace through faith. Faith is obedient trust in God. James 2:14-1. We trust what God has done in Jesus as the ground of our salvation and we commit our lives fully to Him.

I Corinthians 1:18 You can only see the cross in one of two ways: For those who are perishing, the message of the cross is foolishness. For those who are being saved, the message of the cross is the power of God.

I Peter 2:21-25 -- Why did Jesus die on the cross for us? So that we might die to sin and live for the new righteousness that the cross provides.

Acts Chapters One and Two: By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter explains the Messiah, the cross, and calls the people to a response. We are called to make the same response today. "for all whom the Lord will call".

Question we can all ask ourselves: What impact does the cross and God's grace have on my life?

Enjoy!
Elizabeth