Both Sides of the Cross
by Andy Lapins

At the end of this month, Christians all around the world will celebrate the Easter season, commemorating the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. On Good Friday many churches will hold special services and in most cases the focus of the messages that will be preached will be on the crucifixion of Jesus. More than likely there will be literally thousands of sermons preached that will in one way or another focus on the cross and sacrificial death of Christ. But sadly, the majority of those messages will only consider one side of the cross. There are two sides of the cross and both aspects need to be proclaimed to both the Christian and the lost.

The side of the cross that will get the most attention from pastors and Christians is the side that demonstrates the love of God for humanity. If you ask Christians what the cross is a symbol of the majority will answer that it is a symbol of God’s love. And they would be absolutely correct. If you study the New Testament you will see that God’s love is almost always given in direct correlation to the cross. Probably the most well known and most often quoted verse in the entire Bible speaks about this: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoeverbelieves in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The Bible clearly states that the cross is a visible demonstration of the love of God: Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God not only proclaimed His love for humanity but He also physically demonstrated that love by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on Calvary. The Bible also says that the cross is a definition of what true love actually is:
I John 3:16 “This how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” I John 4:10 also says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” The cross is the focal point of God’s love for humanity.

The cross is a glorious symbol of the undeserved and unfathomable love of Almighty God for people. Thank God for the cross on which the Prince of glory died! But this is only one side of the cross. There is another side and another representation of God that is shown in the cross of Christ. For people to understand the complete message of the cross both sides need to be presented in truth.

The other side of the cross shows the holiness, righteousness and justice of God. It is also a clear representation of the holy wrath and anger that God has in regards to sin. The cross demonstrates right before our very eyes the unquenchable fury that will be unleashed by God against sin and all those who participate in it.

I do not have the adequate space necessary in this article to even begin to consider and list the medical descriptions that various experts and physicians have given concerning the unimaginable physical torment and devastation of His physical body that Jesus experienced both during his sufferings before the cross and the actual crucifixion. Understand that to purchase our salvation Jesus not only had to die but He also had to suffer. Jesus explained this to His disciples: Matthew 16:21 “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” The Apostle Paul spoke about this side of the cross as well: Acts 17:2-3 “As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.” In order to show humanity God’s intense hatred of sin and punishment for it, Jesus not only had to die but He also had to suffer greatly. When Isaiah was prophesying about the Messiah and His suffering he stated: Isaiah 52:14 “Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness”. The prophet said that Jesus would be beaten so severely that he wouldn’t even look like a human being. Jesus was “disfigured beyond that of any man”. Many people, even many Christians, were offended by how graphic the beatings and crucifixion was portrayed in the movie “The Passion of the Christ”, but we need to understand that even that was not even close to the reality that Jesus experienced.

This side of the cross should make both sinners and Christians alike tremble with the fear of the Lord. The cross represents the way of salvation for the Christian, but for the sinner it symbolizes the fury and wrath of God that will come upon them if they refuse to repent (Romans 2:5). Hebrews 10:31 states, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” It is a “dreadful” thing for a sinner to fall into the hands of God because of the unimaginable and eternal punishment that God will execute against them because of their violation of His Law (I John 3:4).

This side of the cross shows how serious sin is to God. The punishment for a crime usually indicates how serious the crime was. If you hear of someone who received a $20 fine for a crime you can conclude it was not a very serious crime. But if you hear of someone who received multiple life sentences or the death penalty you can surmise that their crime was exceedingly serious. If we want to understand God’s holiness and that “sin might become utterly sinful” (Romans 7:13) all we have to do is look at the punishment and suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross.

If we want to sinners come trembling before a blood stained cross in contrition and repentance we need to preach both sides of the cross. We need to present the Law of God (Exodus 20:1-17) and show sinners their sins. We need to warn of them of the wrath of God and consequences for rebelling against God and violating His Law. Then when they cry out “what must I do to be saved” (Acts 16:30) we then need to reveal the mercy and grace of God shown in Christ crucified. Let us return to preaching both sides of the cross.