Understanding the Savior Through the Lens of Calvary
John 8:28a
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he…
The time in which Jesus chose to fully reveal Himself as the Savior of the world was not a minute shy of the cross of Calvary. It would not be until the sacrifice of the lovely Lamb of God was made that it would occur to the world whom they had slain. It would only be after Christ cried “It is finished” and gave up the ghost, and only after the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and only after the simultaneous earthquake that occurred, that the centurion and they that were with him would fearfully declare, “Truly this was the Son of God.” Calvary itself is the centerpiece of history, as all before Christ looked forward to Him, and all after Christ look back to Him. The Christ of Calvary impacts the universe in such a way that without Him, nothing would even exist, much less be in harmony. Take Christ out of history, and there would be no history at all! Calvary was God’s master plan to redeem fallen man, and it was there on the cross that He displayed all of His glory, love, and grace to us. Try to imagine with me how they must have felt when it occurred to them after they had nailed Him to the cross that He was the chosen one; the promised Messiah; the Lamb of God; very God and very man. Oh, the horror that must have smitten their hearts. Ah, but I too experienced that horror in my own heart when at last it was revealed to me by the precious Holy Spirit that it was my sins that put Him on the cross. I too was as guilty as the ones who were there literally driving the nails in His hands and feet. You cannot fully see Christ in all of His splendor until after you understand yourself to be the guilty one who crucified Him there on Calvary. Jesus said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” (John 12:32). The message of the cross is one of redemption, but in order to grasp redemption, one must understand the price that was paid for such redemption. So, once you have seen yourself guilty before a Holy God, then and only then can you fully see Christ as a valid substitute for your sins; until then, you have no need of a Savior, or so you think. Look to Calvary today, call upon the name of the Lord, and you shall be saved!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he…
The time in which Jesus chose to fully reveal Himself as the Savior of the world was not a minute shy of the cross of Calvary. It would not be until the sacrifice of the lovely Lamb of God was made that it would occur to the world whom they had slain. It would only be after Christ cried “It is finished” and gave up the ghost, and only after the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and only after the simultaneous earthquake that occurred, that the centurion and they that were with him would fearfully declare, “Truly this was the Son of God.” Calvary itself is the centerpiece of history, as all before Christ looked forward to Him, and all after Christ look back to Him. The Christ of Calvary impacts the universe in such a way that without Him, nothing would even exist, much less be in harmony. Take Christ out of history, and there would be no history at all! Calvary was God’s master plan to redeem fallen man, and it was there on the cross that He displayed all of His glory, love, and grace to us. Try to imagine with me how they must have felt when it occurred to them after they had nailed Him to the cross that He was the chosen one; the promised Messiah; the Lamb of God; very God and very man. Oh, the horror that must have smitten their hearts. Ah, but I too experienced that horror in my own heart when at last it was revealed to me by the precious Holy Spirit that it was my sins that put Him on the cross. I too was as guilty as the ones who were there literally driving the nails in His hands and feet. You cannot fully see Christ in all of His splendor until after you understand yourself to be the guilty one who crucified Him there on Calvary. Jesus said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” (John 12:32). The message of the cross is one of redemption, but in order to grasp redemption, one must understand the price that was paid for such redemption. So, once you have seen yourself guilty before a Holy God, then and only then can you fully see Christ as a valid substitute for your sins; until then, you have no need of a Savior, or so you think. Look to Calvary today, call upon the name of the Lord, and you shall be saved!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill