The Meaning of the Cross, Day 40

Welcome to Day 40, the final day of our series, “40 days of the cross.” Each day we have taken just a few minutes to look at a word which will help us better understand the meaning of the cross. Today’s word is revelation. 

Now, I’m not talking about the book of Revelation, which we did a series on a few years ago. I am talking about the simple definition of revealing something that is true. In this case, the cross is a revelation of the character of God. Up until the time of Jesus, God’s character was mostly revealed through His interactions with the nation of Israel as recorded in the Scripture. 

With the coming of Jesus, suddenly the world had a perfect revelation of the character of God. This is because Jesus was and IS God. In a way we can’t completely understand, Jesus and the Father are One - that’s why Jesus could say to His disciples that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father.
 

Every word that Jesus spoke, every miracle He presented, every action He did was a revelation of the character of God. And one of those actions was His sacrifice on the cross. The cross reveals the character of God. Looking strictly at the Old Testament, many people had, and still have, a picture of God as a God of pure holiness and wrath. 

There is no question that that IS part of God’s character. But in the life and ministry of Jesus, we also see this meek, peaceful, enemy-loving revelation of God’s character. This is also part of who God is. God is not a one-dimensional caricature. There are many aspects of God’s character and ALL of them are perfect. 

The cross is also a revelation of God’s character. Hebrews 1:3 says of Jesus, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Jesus made purification for our sins by dying on the cross.
 

The WAY Jesus faced the cross reveals God’s very nature and reveals how God conquers evil. Jesus faced the cross with humility. He faced the cross as a servant. Jesus hung upon the cross as an act of self-sacrificial love for those who had cursed Him. The cross is a revelation of the character of God.
 

After we pray today, I encourage you to take a few minutes and think about what the cross reveals about God’s character, and how that affects your relationship with Him. 

Father God, I thank you for the cross which revealed your character to us. Reveal yourself to us today, and reveal Yourself Sunday, as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. In His Name we pray, amen. 

Thanks for reading these 40 days. As always, we invite you to join us in person at Christian Assembly, especially this Sunday as we celebrate Jesus’ victory over death and the grave. (The resurrection also reveals the character of God!) END