The Bible's Explanation of What God Was Doing at the Cross

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This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God…

Acts 2:23

The Bible gives us not only a description of what people heard and saw when Jesus died on the cross, but also an explanation of what God saw in Jesus' death. And in this explanation, God reveals what He was doing at the cross:

Christ died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3). If you had been there, you wouldn’t have known that Jesus was dying for our sins.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Pet. 2:24). When Jesus died, Christian, your sins were transferred to Jesus, and He carried them away.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). What did God do? He made Jesus to be sin for us.

The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:6). God was taking the initiative, moving guilt and iniquity. Christ was bearing our sins and our punishment.

He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace (Is. 53:5). Jesus endured our punishment on the cross.

The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Jesus paid the price for us to be set free from the awful judgement of God on account of our sins.

Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith (Rom. 3:24-25). Notice how the sacrifice of Jesus becomes effective for you: "to be received by faith” in His blood.

Thank God for one thing He was doing at the cross.