The Importance of the Cross

The Importance of the Cross

“And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31)

Why “must” Christ suffer?  This imperative was all through the life of Christ.  This imperious necessity was not because of man.  Jesus did not say, “I must be killed because men are going to kill Me.” The Lord did not have to allow Himself to be put to death, at least by any human standard.  “No one takes it [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (John 10:18).

This “must” was a cable of two strands: obedience to the father, and love of humankind.  It was this harness that He took on, and which drew Him to Jerusalem. It was this that fastened Him to the cross, not the nails.  So we see this divine imperative: if Jesus was the Messiah, out of love for man and obedience to the Father’s will, He must die.  For the Messiah, it was inevitable, and for those for whom the veil of unbelief has been torn away, who see Jesus for who He really is, that death is inevitable too.

Meditation:  Does the inevitability of my own cross weaken my faithfulness?

Further Reading: Mark 8:27-38