As they returned, my food is to do the will of
him who sent me. And then in Jerusalem, he said
to those who were listening, in John 5, 30, I
seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father.
And then again in chapter 8 of John, verses 28
and 29, I do nothing on my own initiative, but
I speak these things as the Father taught me.
I always do the things that are pleasing to him.
And so the Lord Jesus Christ carefully, purposefully,
systematically, conscientiously saw that the
scripture was fulfilled in his life, including
his offering at the cross. The cross was the
focal point. It was the climax, the purpose.
of the Father's will in his coming. We see that
in Luke chapter 22 when Jesus in the garden prays
and he says, Not my will but thine be done. The
cross was the will of his Father. The cross was
not an act of fate. Jesus did not look upon this
as something that had to take place so let's
get it over with. Nor was the cross an accident.
something that got out of control and ended up
in a sad death. But rather the cross was that
which he pursued. He set his face as flint to
go to Jerusalem, there to offer up himself for
sin. This was the will of the Father from before
creation. It says again in Luke chapter 22, Jesus
says, The Son of Man is going as it has been
determined. And Peter gives us further insight.
in chapter 1 of his first epistle, when he says,
after talking about the blood of Christ offered
as a lamb, for he was foreknown before the foundation
of the world. And that word foreknown implies
chosen, selected, elected. And that's why, again,
in his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter
said, this man delivered up by the determined
plan and foreknowledge of God. And so when we
think about the cross of Jesus Christ, let's
not think about something that was out of hand,
an accident, nor let us think of it as simply
fate playing out what had to be done. But rather
it was the determined will of God that Jesus
Christ, God the Son come in the flesh, should
go to the cross and there bear your sins and
mine. And so what was the cross to the Lord Jesus?
It was the fulfilling. of his Father's will.
That was always his chief concern, that the will
of the Father be done. Secondly, for Jesus, the
cross was paying the price for sinners. He himself
said, regarding the Son of Man's coming, that
it was to give his life a ransom for many, Mark
10, 45. A ransom is a price. that is paid to
recover a personal thing from one who is detaining
it or him. For example, in South America at the
present time, the last I've heard, there is still
a businessman who has been kidnapped by terrorists,
and there are negotiations taking place between
that band of terrorists and the man's family
for his release. They are trying to work out
the ransom, the price that must be paid. are
detained by sin. We are captured by it. We are
in bondage to it. We are slaves to sin. And the
Lord Jesus Christ on the cross paid the price.
He paid the ransom for our release. His atonement
provides payment for the sins of all men. There
is merit in his death for every man who has ever
lived or ever will live on the face of the earth.
We can perhaps illustrate the merit of his death
by this illustration. If a general is captured
by the enemy army, it may be that that country
would be willing to give a thousand soldiers
for his release. Why is that so? Because of the
worth, the merit of that general. The Lord Jesus
Christ died upon the cross, and he died for all
men, and so great is his worth. So infinite is
the merit of his death that it provides for the
salvation of all men. It's sufficient for all,
but it's efficient or applied only to those who
personally trust him. as Savior and Lord. So
as Jesus looked at the cross, it was with this
attitude. He was paying the price for sinners.
But folks, let's keep in mind that it was more
than a legal transaction. It was an act of supreme
love. It was not something mechanical that he
did, but rather it was a voluntary sacrifice
because he so desperately loves every one of
us. The third attitude that Jesus had toward
the cross is that of providing the basis for
the new covenant. God always deals with mankind
on the basis of a covenant. He always has and
he always will. Jesus said at that last supper
with his disciples, this cup is the new covenant.
In my blood, that is established on my blood.
He says, as Matthew records it, this is my blood
of the covenant. Up to that time, mankind was
related to God or could be related to God through
the old covenant, as we call it now. That was
the covenant of the law. And that covenant said,
do this and you will live. The only problem is
that Mankind cannot do it. They can't obey the
law. But that was the basis of the law. Do this
and live. God has provided something better for
us now, and that is the new covenant. It is a
covenant established by grace. It is a covenant
that provides free forgiveness of sins. And instead
of saying do and live, It says, believe and live.
In the first, God said essentially, if you will
do this, then I will do that. In the second covenant,
God says, I have done this. Now will you receive
it? This new covenant is enforced today, and
there's never going to be another covenant. It
is the final covenant of God with mankind. It
is the consummating covenant. This new covenant
established in Christ's blood assures the complete
forgiveness and removal of sin. It is but ours
to accept and receive this new covenant so that
it can be made personally applicable to us. And
so as Jesus died upon the cross, As he hung there
in suffering and shame. It was so that he could
provide the basis for the new covenant. So that's
how Jesus saw his death. It was the fulfillment
of the Father's will. It was the ransom price
for sinners. It was the basis for the new covenant.
And so we have seen how the Jews looked at it.
How the Romans saw it. How Pilate saw it. We've
seen how the disciples looked at it. And how
Jesus looked at it. I guess the final question
is, how do you see it? What does it mean to you
personally? Is it an unfortunate event in history
as far as you're concerned? That is, you have
sympathy for Jesus and what happened. You're
sorry that it took place. But that's all. Or
do you look upon it as an insignificant event
really, one that has no real relevance to you?
Or perhaps do you see it as something for religious
people to consider, but a matter that you have
no time or interest in? The way that we must
see it, if we would be saved, is that it is the
sacrifice of the Son of God. for the sin of each
of us. And going one step further, we must see
it in terms of a personal faith. For it's insufficient
to say, Jesus died for me. We must therefore
say, I receive him as my Savior and Lord. The
cross is the focal point of all history and of
your personal destiny. I suppose the final question
that we would ask might be phrased as the songwriter
did. What will you do with Jesus? Neutral you
cannot be. Someday your heart will be asking,
what will he do with me? Let's pray. Father,
I pray that we may be able to see Calvary as
you see it. I pray that in our minds we will
be led to Calvary today. And may our response
be one of surrender, one of love, one of faith,
as we recognize the supreme act of love which
the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated to us and
for us. In his name we pray. Amen. Let's close
by singing one verse of number two.