THE CROSS IN THE REDEMPTION PLAN OF GOD

THE CROSS IN THE REDEMPTION PLAN OF GOD –

Ps. Buabeng J. Richard - John 19:14-18

14 It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. "Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.  15 But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.  "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.  16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 Here they crucified him, and with him two others-one on each side and Jesus in the middle.   

                    NIV

The redemption plan of God has never been understood by men. We all know the story of the fall of man. There is a saying that “God foresee but does not fore fix”. God foresaw the fall of man and made a plan to redeem man back.

From the beginning of creation, God always require blood in order to forgive sin. The first picture of forgiveness is seen in Gen 3:21 “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.NIV

 This verse shows that God require blood in order to forgive the sin of Adam and Eve.

The cross was never in the redemption plan of God but blood was in His redemption plan of God.

The cross never stands for glory, but the cross represents shame, suffering and humiliation.

God never intended to crucify Christ but his intention was to sacrifice him as our sin offering. What happen in Gen. 3:21 (God given them sheepskin to wear), before God was able to get the sheep skin, He has to kill it first and let all the blood drain away and that process is called sacrifice. God never had the plan of murdering Jesus but to slain Him. Rev. 5:6, 9 “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 9And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. NIV

Jesus said He came purposely to die to save humanity. It has always been the plan of God as He first declared the coming of Christ in Gen. 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel", which theologians called that text as “Protevangelion.” I want us to study briefly how in the Old Testament sin sacrifices were made to God.

Let read Leviticus 16:5-16

5 From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 6 "Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats — one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat.   9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat. 11 "Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the Testimony, so that he will not die. 14 He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover. 15 "He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull's blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. NIV

These verses give us the clue of how Jesus was to be killed as our atonement sacrifice.

The truth is that when John the Baptist in, John 1:29, 36 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God." introduce Jesus as the lamb of God that takes the sins of the world, they were to take Him (Jesus) to the high priest at that time (Caiaphas), place Jesus on the altar with all the Israelite present, kill Him like a sheep, take his blood as the sin offering, burn His body to ashes and on the third day, gather again to celebrate the victory of Christ form the dead. A good example is Abraham sacrificing his only son Isaac to God.

God just needed the blood of Christ to be shed for all mankind but never prescribed a method they must use apart from what they were practicing in the O.T.

So if this was the plan of God concerning the redemption of man, “WHERE FORM THE CROSS?”

Crucifixion or death on the cross was the practiced by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, and later used extensively by the Romans. Only slaves, the harden criminals and offenders who are not Roman citizens were executed in such manner, that is why the apostle Paul because of his roman background he was beheaded and Peter was crucify. Historians tell of how shameful and painful to go through such a thing.

The main person behind Jesus dying on the cross was satan. “The cross was plan by satan but the cross was use by God.”

Satan has three main reasons of crucifying our Lord.

a.    To disgrace and bring shame to Christ.

Death on the cross to the Jews is a shameful and disgraceful form of death.  That was the main reason the chief priest, the Pharisees and the enemies of Christ wanted Jesus to be crucify.

The Bible even calls that person curse of the Lord. Satan tries to use the cross to bring shame to Christ but it rather turn to glory. Phil. 2:8 “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name….”

b.    To gain control over Christ.

If he was able to use the cross to kill Him, he will come to the place of the dead. That place is hell. The truth is that before Christ resurrection both the righteous and sinners were all in hell though different place but it has one entrance. And the key was with satan. He (satan) was to get people to kill Jesus He (Jesus) will come under him (satan) because he has the keys. This was a very foolish act from satan. If satan knew what was about to take place, he will not even inspire the people to kill Jesus. 1 Corinthians 2:8 “None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Bible says when Christ die on that holy Friday nothing happens in hell, on that faithful Saturday nothing happens, the heavens were silence, satan started rejoicing because he taught he has won the battle not knowing what was coming on Sunday. The Bible says, early that glorious Sunday morning, Jesus went to satan and told him, thanks for all your part you and your people has play in the redemption of mankind, I am leaving this place but I want you to know that, I want the keys and I am taking all the righteous from here and transporting the to Heaven where my Father has prepare for them. Satan lost the battle totally.

c.     To thwart the plan of God

Satan form generations have been fighting against the plan of God. He was trying all his best to stop God from saving humanity to Himself.

The cross has become the center of history. The cross of Christ has become the center point of humanity’s existence on earth.

I want us to look at some of the things the cross has done for us.

i.                   The cross has now become the source of our glory.

ii.                 It was the cross that has purchase our redemption.                     Col. 1:13, 14 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. NKJV the blood talks about the cross

iii.              It was the cross that brought us back to God.                               Rev. 5:9 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

iv.              It was the cross that cleanses every hand written against our life. Col. 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. NKJV

v.                 It was the cross that gave Christ the power to disarmed satan. Col. 2:15 ...having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. NKJV

vi.              It was the cross that purchases our healing.                                       1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. NIV

vii.            It was the cross that gave God the power to save the world.         1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.NIV

viii.         It was the cross that that breaks the power of curse upon us.   Gal. 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."NIV

ix.               It was the cross that gave us joy, peace, and liberty.                 Rom. 5:1, 2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. NIV

x.                 It was the cross that justifies us.                                                     Rom. 5:9 “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

NIV

xi.               It was the cross that made us children of God. Satan thought of killing God’s only Son but not knowing that by killing Him on the cross it will rather give God more children.

xii.            It was the cross that has made us heirs of God.

There is no power in the cross if the blood of Christ was not shed. The power of the cross came through the shed blood of Christ. Our main focus should be the blood of Christ not the cross.

So in conclusion, the cross was not in the redemption plan of God, satan introduce it and it was use by God.