April 22, 2011
The Blessings of the Cross
The following message was preached by Pastor Latha Ramesh Pandian
As Christians, if we are ever challenged about the genuineness of the cross and Jesus Christ and
asked questions such as, „If Jesus was God, why did He allow Himself to get into the hands of
ordinary men who would kill Him on the cross? Is it true that Jesus died on the cross? Perhaps a
para-Jesus was in hiding somewhere. Is what you believe as a Christian really true?‟, we must know
with certainty that what the Bible teaches about Jesus Christ and His crucifixion is indeed true! The
Old Testament contains several prophecies concerning Jesus‟ death, burial and resurrection. Isaiah
50:6 says, “I gave My back to the smiters and My cheeks to those who plucked off the hair; I hid not
My face from shame and spitting.” This prophecy concerning Jesus Christ was fulfilled as Jesus
voluntarily gave His back to those who had wanted to smite Him. Gethsemane speaks about the
suffering of Christ. Jesus offered Himself up as a sacrificial lamb. In Luke 22:44, we read, “And
being in an agony [of mind], He prayed [all the] more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became
like great clots of blood dropping down upon the ground.” Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of man
experienced agony of mind because He knew the depth of what He would be going through soon
after. So He prayed earnestly. Furthermore, Hebrews 2:10 says, “For it was an act worthy [of God]
and fitting [to the divine nature] that He, for Whose sake and by Whom all things have their
existence, in bringing many sons into glory, should make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect [should
bring to maturity the human experience necessary to be perfectly equipped for His office as High
Priest] through suffering.” One of the key words emphasized in this scripture is „act‟. Jesus‟ going to
the cross was most definitely an act that was considered worthy of God. His death on the cross in
action was worthy of God. It was a God thing. In our own life, when we sometimes go through
situations beyond our understanding, it is a God thing. All that has taken place in our life until this
very day has been orchestrated by God, whether it is power or suffering. An important lesson that
we can all learn from Christ is that we are not out of the will of God when we go through suffering.
Jesus suffered as a pioneer for our salvation. His suffering was permitted in order to bring forth
many sons of glory. We are sometimes called to endure what we are going through in order to bring
many sons and daughters to glory. At the appointed time, we will be the ones to heal the sick and
raise the dead. The subsequent verse teaches that we are sanctified by Christ. The cross brought
divine nature to us. 2 Peter 1:3 also says, “For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that
[are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who
called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue).” The scriptures confirm that God had
foreordained the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ when He sent Him into the womb of a
virgin named Mary. He is the sovereign One by Whom all things have their existence. In our life, He
can bring things into existence. God is omnipotent; He can bring light out of darkness. Jesus, the
pioneer of our salvation was perfected through the suffering He underwent. Similarly, the hardships
that we go through are to perfect us. Hebrews 2:10 further expounds that the suffering was to
perfectly equip Jesus for His office of High Priest. Today as the priesthood, Jesus the High Priest is
our Head. In order for Him to attain this glorious position, the Father had to make Jesus undergo
suffering. He is indeed the pioneer of our salvation. Jesus paid the price on the cross to transform
us from the ordinary to the supernatural! From emptiness to the place of glory, where God dwells,
where everything is sufficient and where all our needs will be met! We have everything to boast
about in Christ and it is a priceless privilege that we are given to follow Jesus. When this truth is
revealed to people, they will become strong in the Lord. Jesus went to the cross and creation itself
could not deny this fact. Creation shut its action on the day He was crucified. The Word of God says
that there was darkness over the whole land. Creation did not want to witness the Son of God
hanging naked on the cross as if to say He had lost all His power. Creation became silent!
Scriptures are taken from Amplified Bible
Hebrews 5:8 says, “Although He was a Son, He learned [active, special] obedience through what He
suffered.” Obedience was a learning process for the Son of God. He had to pass lesson after lesson.
Every day Jesus had to learn. The best role model we can ever have stood for obedience. The Bible
teaches us that obedience is better than sacrifice. Anything other than obedience amounts to
rebellion and the Word of God also says that rebellion is like witchcraft. When a person‟s mind is
controlled by another, it is witchcraft. It is like putting a spell on someone and making them do what
you want. The opposite of rebellion is obedience. Jesus began His walk of obedience from Day 1,
right from the time the Father had sent Him to come into this world. Philippians 2 explains that Jesus
did not consider equality with God something to be eagerly retained. Instead, He gave up all His
divine privileges and assumed the guise of a servant. The King of glory became flesh and was born to
Mary and Joseph. If only we understand the value of suffering, we will not run away from it. Jesus
was a pioneer and He went through pain. He knows what we are going through so we can believe in
the path He followed. Although Jesus was the Son of God, He was under the authority of the Father
all the time. He learnt obedience through suffering. Hebrews 13:12 says, “Therefore Jesus also
suffered and died outside the [city's] gate in order that He might purify and consecrate the people
through [the shedding of] His own blood and set them apart as holy [for God].” Jesus was crucified
outside the city as was customary for criminals in those days. He shed His blood to purify and
consecrate us. Jesus gave His own life to make us holy. Is there any other God who gave His life to
make someone holy? He is the source of holiness. There is no other God who is holy as Jesus was.
He is the most holy and there is no match for His holiness. He suffered and died to make us pure
and holy, i.e. to set us apart for a holy purpose! In the Old Testament, the vessels that were used to
offer sacrifices had an inscription „holy unto the Lord‟. Jesus one day said to Peter in John 13:8,
“Unless I wash you, you have no part with (in) Me [you have no share in companionship with Me].” A
Christian is pure, holy and consecrated unto the Lord. This is the way of life for us today. We cannot
sail in two boats. If we have given our life to Jesus, let us choose to live in this manner until the day
we depart from this earth. Let us walk on the highway of holiness. A Christian cannot hold a Bible in
one hand and a can of beer in the other. Such a one is definitely not a true Christian. We cannot
mess up our life with lies. A Christian must be afraid to tell a lie, to disobey or do anything else that
will hurt God. We are called to be holy, acceptable and perfect. By His grace and in His name, we
can be holy. A true reflection of holiness is not in outward manifestations such as walking
barefooted, taking up penance or cutting one‟s hair. Holiness cannot be attained by works but by
grace. God said in His Word, „Be ye holy‟. To be holy should not be a struggle for us. His grace will
enable us to have control over our eyes, our ears, our thoughts, over what we eat and over
everything we do. We will not make a mess of our life if we follow the pioneer of holiness. Even if
we live in a place where the atmosphere is unholy, we cannot pattern our life by what the world
considers acceptable. We will only do according to what our Pioneer did. Let us make a bold
confession today saying, „I am holy. I will be holy. Until I see You in eternity, O God, I will be holy.
My thoughts and imaginations, my appearance, my heart, hands, and feet will be holy. I will not fall
in sin‟. A holy life is a life full of joy and freedom. 1 Peter 2:21 says, “For even to this were you
called [it is inseparable from your vocation]. For Christ also suffered for you, leaving you [His
personal] example, so that you should follow in His footsteps.” To live a holy life, we have the girdle
of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith and the shoes of
peace. The enemy does not have any of these. We have peace whereas the devil is a wanderer,
who does not have a place of settlement. He does not have a shield. He does not have the Word of
God and so he does not have a sword in his hand. God has adorned us to live a holy life. We are
being made holy each day. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ [the Messiah Himself] died for sins once for
all, the Righteous for the unrighteous (the Just for the unjust, the Innocent for the guilty), that He
might bring us to God. In His human body He was put to death, but He was made alive in the spirit.”
We were brought near to God through Christ‟s death. Today, we are surrounded by God and so we
can walk with Him in holiness.
Scriptures are taken from Amplified Bible
The Word of God explains that Jesus was mocked by many. In Matthew 13:55, people said of Him,
“Is not this the carpenter's Son? Is not His mother called Mary? And are not His brothers James and
Joseph and Simon and Judas?” People scorned Him wherever He went. He took the mockery upon
Himself by allowing people to look down on Him and talk ill of Him. In Mark 15:29, we read, “And
those who passed by kept reviling Him and reproaching Him abusively in harsh and insolent language,
wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You Who would destroy the temple and build it in three days.
Now rescue Yourself [from death], coming down from the cross!” People used harsh words with
Jesus. In our own life, when we are treated harshly by others, let us remember that Jesus too was
reviled and reproached. God will put his seal of approval upon us when we endure. Some of the
people who were around Jesus at that time even wagged their heads saying „Aha‟! How difficult it is
to go through such incidents in life when people mock us when we fall sick saying we deserve it, or
when they rejoice because we have lost everything. Often times, we come across people who judge
us and also the ministry that God has given us. They say things to hurt us so that we will die inch by
inch. Let us never allow the enemy to have a celebration on our behalf. No, never! Because Jesus
did it all on the cross and today, we belong to Jesus!
In John 10:20, we read that when Jesus was driving out demons and healing the sick in the fullness
of the anointing, the religious leaders could not comprehend it. They reviled Him saying that He had
demons. They supposed that Jesus was insane. Unexpected and uncalled for abusive language was
used to describe the Son of God. Yet, Jesus kept quiet. When such comments about our own life
come to our ears when we are walking with the Lord, they are from the pit of hell. Those people
justified their sinful attitudes and lives by speaking ill of Jesus. Let us be mindful of God‟s Word
which warns us not to touch the apple of His eyes and to do His anointed ones, the prophets no
harm!
Jesus had to undergo still more agony. In Matthew 27:29, we read, “And, weaving a crown of
thorns, they put it on His head and put a reed (staff) in His right hand. And kneeling before Him, they
made sport of Him, saying, Hail (greetings, good health to You, long life to You), King of the Jews!”
Historical records show that the thorns of the crown that was used at Jesus‟ crucifixion contained
poisonous substances. This crown pierced through Jesus‟ head. For every ugly thought of our mind,
Jesus was pierced for that. He bore the crown so that our thoughts would be repaired and our mind
would be set free. Jesus paid the penalty for our sinful thoughts. The Word of God says that Jesus
made His forehead like bronze as He set His face towards Jerusalem. If we have put our hand to the
plough, we cannot turn back! We are married to the One called Jesus who gave His life for us. We
are united to Him and we cannot part. Let us stand on that covenant. Jesus never had a second
thought. Those who doubted Him told Him to save Himself if He was indeed God. He did not answer
them a word. Even the criminal who was hanging on the cross beside Him abused Him. They treated
Him with contempt. They scoffed at Him, ridiculed and beat Jesus, a young man at the tender age of
33½ years. They did not merely beat Him, they scourged Him. They used long whips at the end of
which were attached sharp pieces of stone, which were plunged into His body, shredding His flesh
like pieces of leather. Blood was oozing out of Him. They removed His clothes. They took away His
tunic, which was handmade by His mother, Mary out of very expensive cloth. The soldiers cast lots
for His tunic as they did not want to cut it up in pieces. They blindfolded His eyes and asked Him to
prophecy who had struck Him. Jesus was a handsome, soft-spoken person. They beat Him, slapped
Him and spat on Him. No word was spoken by our Savior. He did not use His supernatural power to
stop the abuse. He took all the shame in order to save souls like us. He endured the cross so that
we could receive our healing. Today, we can claim His Word, which says, „By His stripes, I have been
healed‟. We were on His mind when He was on the cross. And if He had to do it all over again for a
single one of us, He would. Jesus was not selfish. His body was broken for us. His blood was shed
for us. No matter how much we do today for this Savior of our soul, it is still insufficient. Let us
make a commitment to return to Him and to fall in love with Him all over again. Let us make a
decision to commit our life once gain to the One who voluntarily gave up His life for us.
Scriptures are taken from Amplified Bible