If your neighbor, Mr. Smith, broke into your house and stole your car, jewelry, and television set, would you be okay if a judge dismissed the charges and let him walk? Wouldn’t something inside you demand justice?
How would you feel if Mr. Smith was convicted but his neighbor, Mr. Jones, not only replaced all your goods, but also agreed to serve Smith’s jail sentence? You’d get your property back, but was justice served? Jones is doing Smith’s time. That’s not fair!
The cross isn’t fair, either.
The essence of the gospel is that Jesus died for our sins. He took our place so we could escape the punishment we deserve. Christ is our substitute.
Isaiah prophesied this event hundreds of years in advance of Good Friday.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” – Isaiah 53:5-6
Jesus’ death is good news for the guilty, but what gives Him the right to serve as our substitute?
Not what, who.
God authorized Christ to substitute for us.
“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood–to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished– 26he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” – Romans 3:25-26
The apostle Paul acknowledges that God appeared to let sin slide. For centuries, people got away with evil; they faced no punishment for their rebellion against the Lord and their mistreatment of others.
As Solomon observed,
“When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong.” – Ecclesiastes 8:11
Is God unjust? Does He not care about good versus evil? The horrors that people have committed throughout history argue that the Lord is indifferent.
The death of Jesus answers that accusation. His suffering for our sin reinforces God’s righteousness. It also allows the Father to make us holy.
Without the cross, the only way for us to become pure in God’s sight would be for Him to declare it so. Like a judge bent on freeing a defendant, the Lord could announce our innocence and that would be the end of the trial.
We’d feel grateful, but would that decree placate the offenses God has endured? And how about those who’ve suffered by our misdeeds and harsh words?
There has to be more. What gave Jesus the right to die for the sins of the world? And what makes His death effective on our behalf?
Love.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:6-8
The law didn’t motivate God; love did. And His love is so powerful that it not only meets the requirements of perfect righteousness, it also changes who we are. Justice demands but love transcends.
“Mercy triumphs over judgment.” – James 2:13b
When evaluated by human standards, the cross of Christ is a miscarriage of justice. But viewed through the eyes of love, the death of Jesus becomes the most profound expression of redemption and restoration.
Have a blessed Good Friday and wonderful Resurrection Sunday!
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