Road to the Cross: Arriving

Why is this night different than any other night?

This question, asked by children at the Passover Seder all over the world, sets the tone for the evening’s reflection and feast.  The leader then recites the story of salvation from slavery in Egypt.  We hear again of the plagues God puts on Egypt, the slaughter of the Passover lamb and the parting of the Red Sea. We remember the bitter tears of the people as they made bricks without straw and we are given the sweet charoset to remember that life is not only bitter.  But the overriding message is one of salvation and deliverance.

But today and tonight, we ask the same question, “why is this night different than any other night?” The answer is similar, but not the same. For the Christian, the reason for the night’s different lies not in the Passover, but in the Cross.

Today we arrive at the end of the road to the cross.  We have arrived at the foot of the cross to behold the innocent victim slain.

The cross. 

What can we say about the cross that has not already been said?  Perhaps there is no need to say anything new, but to remind ourselves about the meaning of the cross.  For Luther, the Christian must come to a complete stop at the cross to think about the crucified God.  Either we will accept the cross and cling to it, or we will reject it and scorn it.  As Paul said, the cross is “a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23).

If we reject the cross, we must reject Jesus and leave him behind.  Jesus’ crucifixion was not an accident and it was a failure.  Jesus came into this world and set his face towards’ Jerusalem.  He knew even before He started that his road would lead to the cross.  He accepted this as His purpose and even when he acknowledged the agony of the cross, he still submitted to it. 

But why? What was the point?  What did he do on the cross and why did he have to die on the cross?

Paul hints at the answer to this question in Colossians 1: For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

In the cross of Christ, lays the reconciliation of the world with God.  The world was once alienated from God through the power of sin and death, but now we have been brought close to God through Christ’s sufferings.  Our acceptance and reconciliation lies in Christ’s death.

Our journey to the Cross is our journey to God, because only through the cross can we come near to God.  Our sins must be punished and our debt must be paid.  This Jesus does when He goes to the cross.

This simple act changes our world and creates a new reality for us.  Just like the Jews who were able to escape Egypt into a new world, so now we have been able to escape from a dark world and enter into God’s family, his household.

Many religions offer a way to God, if only you will do x,y,and z.  Christianity is the only religion that says you cannot get to God, that God has to come to you.  Most religions say that you must sacrifice in order to get to God, in Christianity, Jesus is the sacrifice Himself who paves the way for us to stand before God.

This dramatically (or should dramatically change) the world.  The cross and suffering, not military power and wealth, is the way to victory and the way to salvation.  In 323, when Constantine heard the message, “by this sign will you conquer” he almost had it right.  Unfortunately, he saw this as a political answer to create a political empire.  Christianity has never been about a political empire and the cross is the positive sign of this.

Instead of seeking an authority based, power hungry organization to rule the world with an iron fist, the cross tells us that if we want victory, we must sacrifice ourselves, our very lives on behalf of others who not only do not believe the way we do, but mock and scorn us.  The cross tells us that the reconciliation of man with God is not to be sought in power, but in weakness.

Only when we see Jesus nailed to the cross, do we understand not only how deep God’s love is for us, but how deep our love for our neighbor should be.  We see Jesus willing to submit to cruel and vicious people for the good of those who shouted to crucify him.  So too, should the church be willing to sacrifice herself and submit to those who would crucify her.  In this, we see the perfect picture of love and a model for us to minister to a world that needs to be reconciled to God.

When we understand the cross in its entirety, we understand what Jurgen Moltmann meant when he said that "God became man so that dehumanized men might become true men."  The cross is the basis for a new society....one in which fair treatment does not need to be dictated by law but springs up from God's love for us and the new creation.  People are not divided by race, but differences are celebrated as diversity within God's family.  Hatred is replaced by love and war is overcome by peace.  Indeed the entire fractured world is held together by God's love expressed on the cross.