When you look at all the events that have happened in history, which one is the most significant? Now, we can look at wars like World War II where the introduction of nuclear weapons happened. There are inventions like the internal combustion engine or the printing press that have changed societies and cultures. There is the discovery of vaccines for illnesses that plagued humanity which we no longer have to fear. There are amazing events like going to the moon and sending probes outside our solar system. But when it comes to the breadth of impact, the death of Jesus Christ was the most remarkable event in history.

Think about it. Centuries before it occurred, it was prophesized by various Old Testament prophets. In His lifetime He performed miracles which contradicted many universal physical laws. And upon His death and miraculous resurrection, think about the transformation of millions of lives that have occurred since. Schools, orphanages and hospitals were built. Lives and cultures were changed. I find that amazing!

In Matthew 27, we have a description of what happened that fateful day. When the death of Jesus occurred, the sun disappeared from noon to three PM and the whole land was plunged into darkness. At the precise moment of Jesus’ death, the thick curtain in the Jewish Temple, which set apart the Most Holy Place – this is symbolically where God dwelt, was ripped by an invisible hand from top to bottom. An earthquake occurred which split rocks and broke open tombs. Dead people were raised to life and came out of the tombs. Again, pretty amazing!

Then we jump ahead to three days after His death. Jesus rose from the dead and over forty days and He appeared to His disciples on numerous occasions. At one point 500 people witnessed the resurrected Lord. At the end of those days, the apostles saw Him taken up from their presence in a cloud from which took Him back to heaven. Mind-blowingly amazing!

Fast forward to today. Two thousand years after Christ’s death, the cross is the universally recognized symbol of the Christian faith. It plays a prominent role in the architectural design of church buildings as well as the furnishings which fill it. Military chaplains have it as part of their uniforms. Many athletes incorporate it in their uniforms and of course, many people wear it on chains around their necks. Many wear a cross as a fashion statement without understanding the significance of what it represents.

At the time of Christ’s death, however, the cross was an instrument of incredible horror and shame. It was the most wretched and degrading form of punishment, usually inflicted on the lowliest of people. Think about it: it was a public execution that wasn’t quick. Today, some countries use lethal injection, firing squads, beheading and the electric chair, all “humane” compared to the cross. Dying on a cross means a person had to suffer slowly. To make it more humiliating, every agonizing moment happened for all to see. Think of what the family of the criminal would be feeling? Shame? Embarrassment? And all of this was preceded by flogging. Dying on a cross doesn’t sound too amazing, does it?

So what are we to make of all this? Why was Christ’s death such an amazing event in itself? And how could the eternal Son of God, the One whom Colossians 1 says all things were created by and for, would end up in His human nature unjustly dying one of the cruellest and humiliating deaths ever devised by man?

We know that Jesus’ death on the cross did not take Him by surprise. During His time with the disciples, He continually predicted it. In John 12, Jesus said, “What shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour?” No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.” In essence, Jesus said He came to die.

But then the question is, “Why?” Why did Jesus come to die? The apostle Paul and Peter gave us the answer in clear, concise terms. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:3, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” and Peter says in 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” That is the reason for the cross. He suffered what we should have suffered. He died in our place to pay for the penalty for our sins.

But the question still comes up, “Why?” I don’t believe we will ever understand the cross until we begin to understand something of the nature and depth of our sin. To understand that we must go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden, He imposed a simple prohibition on them. They were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why didn’t God just say, “You shall not steal” or “You shall not murder.” Those would be easier to adhere to, wouldn’t they? Actually, adultery would have been the easiest if you really think about it… but what was the issue then?

The answer is found in the Creation of humanity. In Genesis 1:27, we discover that humanity was created in the image of God which includes among other things, His moral image. In other words, they were morally perfect. They were sinless and in theory didn’t need any moral restrictions placed on them. God tested this by imposing one restriction. They couldn’t eat from the forbidden tree.

I want to point out that there was nothing inherently wrong with the tree. God could have selected any tree in the garden. Nor was obedience difficult. Many kinds of trees in the garden were pleasing to the eye and good for food. To abstain from the tree wasn’t going to inconvenience their lives… it was simply about obedience. But like the bag of chips or chocolate bar in the pantry, it’s not as easy as it sounds, is it?

So when the Serpent questioned God’s goodness and truthfulness, Eve gave in and so did Adam. In that instance they lost the moral image of God; they were no longer perfectly holy. They began the sin game, blaming God and one another. All this led to what theologians call the Fall.

The result was not only guilt but in moral depravity or corruption. Humanity was no longer bent towards God rather it now became biased towards evil. This again is what theologians call original sin. We are all prone to sin, to do things apart from God and Paul called this our sinful nature.

This event and the following consequences led to more than just getting kicked out of a Garden and away from God’s presence. God had made Adam the legal representative of the human race. The consequence of his sin was that corruption was brought to every human being after him. It is like a genetic defect. David said in Psalm 51:5, “Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Even before he was born and committed a sin, he was guilty. People often equate “sin” with doing. But it is deeper than that. It can be what we do, but it also includes what we don’t do and the very motivation of our hearts.

Paul says this in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” Now, of course, not everyone likes the notion that the unborn are sinners but that is what he is saying. Paul is referring to the condition of all humanity due to Adam’s sin. He goes on in verses 18-19 “the result of one trespass was condemnation for all me” and that “through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners.” This all points to the eternal consequence that all of us, you and I, are now objects of God’s wrath… we are all sinners.

You see, the story goes downhill from Adam. Since we have all been corrupted by having a sinful nature, we aggravate it by our own individual sin. It is like having a scab and continually picking it… doing it prevents full healing and can lead to infection and worse.

Now we generally abstain from the “biggie” sins of society. In fact, we tend to sit in judgement of those who commit those sins. But if we step back and take an inventory of the sins we tolerate or have in our own hearts, you might find it rather shocking. What about selfishness, covetousness, pride, resentment, envy, jealousy, self-righteousness, and a critical spirit towards others? The list could go on and on, couldn’t it?

Then look at Jesus’ greatest commandment, “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… and the second one is like it: love your neighbour as yourself.” Do we even follow that to the extent Jesus calls us to? As simple as this is, our problem is a lot deeper than any of us can truly comprehend let alone practice. Look at:

Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me. – How many of us can say our love for God transcends all other desires?”

Psalm 40:8 “I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” – How many of us delight to do God’s will regardless of how difficult it might be?

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – How many of us are never discouraged or frustrated by adverse circumstances because you are confident in what God is doing?

Hebrews 13:5 “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” – How many of you are always content because you know He will never leave you?

This is just a partial list of how the Great Commandment should impact our lives. How well are we doing with that? But let’s look at the second half. How well do we love our neighbours?

All through the Bible, there are verses about caring for the poor, the widows, the foreigners, the orphaned and all marginalized. We are given the example of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. Do we go out of our comfort zones to help others? I posted a video from the US where a 5-year old took a step of faith out of compassion in order to help a homeless man who was hungry. Would we do the same?

1 Corinthians 13 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” – Do we treat our neighbours with the same love and concern we have for ourselves? Do we never show selfishness, irritability or indifference towards others? Do we take a genuine interest in their welfare? Do we never resent them and are we always willing to forgive?

Do you see some of the implications of what it means to obey these two commandments? Most of us don’t even think about them in the course of a day, let alone aspire to obey them. We seem to be content with not committing the biggies and avoiding the duties to which God has commanded us to do. Yet Jesus said all the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Even when we sin, we often downplay it in how we word things. Committing adultery is now “having an affair.” Stealing is “borrowing.” I can remember a famous pastor who didn’t like to call people sinners because it was bad for their self-esteem. We have reduced calling sin “sin” to say it’s “not the best” or “not God’s ideal.” But when we do that, are we doing ourselves a disservice and watering the down Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross?

I don’t think we realize the depth our sinful nature affects us. When David prayed in Psalm 51 right after committing adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband killed, he traced it all back to his mother’s womb. Now you might be thinking, “Why all this attention to sin? Didn’t Jesus take care of it on the Cross?” Yes, but I think we still live like our offences don’t affect God or our relationship with Him. Last week I shared how sin isn’t so much an offence towards others rather it is an offence primarily to God. I think we take His grace and forgiveness for granted because we don’t understand the offence and pain we cause God. As Ezra confesses in 9:6, “our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.”

Many people erroneously think that God can just forgive our sins because He is a loving God. Nothing could be further from the truth. The cross speaks to us not only about our sin but also about God’s holiness. The cross cost God the life of His Son. He experienced abuse, pain, suffering and ultimately, death.

And when we think of God’s holiness, we usually think about His moral purity. That is correct, but there is more to it than that. The basic meaning of the word, “holy” is “separate” and when it is used in the context of God it means among other things, that He is eternally separate from any degree of sin. He does not sin Himself and He cannot abide with or condone sin in His moral creatures. He is not like a grandparent who winks or ignores the mischief or disobedience of his grandchildren. If there is sin, He deals with it.

The Scriptures teach us that God responds to sin with wrath. What that means is God hates sin… He doesn’t just hate it, He despises it! The Psalmist says in Psalm 5:5, “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.” The conclusion when you read Scripture is simple… sin is not an acceptable offering to God. He cannot stand being around it and it had to be dealt with.

So the answer to the “Why” from the title of the message, “The Necessity of the Cross,” we need to say God’s holiness demanded it as punishment for our sin. It begins with God’s holiness and our sin. And it is this process of recognizing our need for redemption because of our shortcomings that drive us to the cross. When a husband does wrong to his wife, he often will come home with a gift to try and appease her wrath. Anything we can think of to appease our spouse pales in comparison. For us, Jesus Christ’s sacrifice is our focus because through it we have been forgiven and brought back into a right relationship with God. It not only resolved our problem with sin, but it secured for us the “boundless” and “unspeakable riches” that are available to us in Christ.

Because of Jesus, we can experience forgiveness. We can experience a restored relationship. We can experience true love. In the end, we understand that the Cross is God’s solution to bring us back to Himself.