Nailed to the Cross

Week 33

When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments he knew that all mankind was sinful. God knew that no matter how hard we would try to be obedient, we just couldn’t do it. He didn’t give us the Ten Commandments to save us, but to prove a point to us. He wanted us to realize that no matter how hard we tried, we just could never be good enough on our own to overcome our sinful nature. 

The law was given to us as a plumb line. The Lord wanted us to get a glimpse of how we would be judged. He expected his people to love him with all of their being, he expected his people to bow only before him, he expected his people to not misuse his name or break his sabbath. He expected his people to honor their parents, to not murder anyone, to not commit adultery or steal. He expected his people to not give false testimony or set their desire on their neighbors property. These are things that God expected of his chosen people, the Hebrews. 

God only wanted his people to follow these laws because it would be best for everyone if they did. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is a God who is worthy of complete devotion. He is worthy of total love. He alone is trustworthy and loyal. He established the sabbath day as a day of rest for himself and expected the same for his people. He is honorable, the giver of life, he is truthful and faithful. He never takes but always gives. He cannot speak anything but truth and he is the one who gives good gifts as he decides what is best for each one of us. 

Why would God expect us to live such righteous lives? Because righteous people are the only ones who can have a relationship with a holy God. He cannot look upon sin - he cannot be intimate with people who are sinful. It goes against his character to associate with sinners. But look at us... Paul says it best in Romans 3:23. “...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All means ALL, not most, not a few, not maybe everyone - but ALL. If following the law could save us then surely there would be some who could follow the law completely and be saved. Surely there would be a few who would be righteous in God’s eyes.

Jesus Christ is the only one who was able to follow the law completely and totally. He was the only one who could save God’s chosen people. When he died on the cross, the sins of the whole world died there as well. In taking the sins of the world on himself, he was able once and for all to satisfy the law. 

His death on the cross completed the perfect sacrifice and then the law could be fulfilled through him. When we break a civil law what are the consequences? There is a penalty to be paid. We must go before the judge and make restitution for our crime. When Christ died on the cross, he went before the righteous judge of heaven and paid the penalty for everyone on the face of the earth. 

The penalty for sin is death and Jesus paid that price for us, even though he was sinless and holy he willingly let the powers of earth nail him to the cross. He knew that they did not have authority over him because he had not broken any of the laws. An innocent man was condemned to death. 

When Satan entered Judas and he betrayed Jesus, when the Jewish court found him guilty, when the Roman government ordered his death, each of these acts lead to the salvation of the world. Those associated with his death didn’t realize that they were not in control, but that God had planned this from the foundation of the world. We read what God said to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 

Indeed, through Abraham’s descendents came the Messiah, the anointed one of God who would take away the sins of the world. Paul said in Galatians 3:8 “The scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you’.” 

The law of Moses was satisfied when Jesus died on the cross. The law had required a perfect sacrifice and there was none perfect until Christ. But how do we fit into that picture? When we put our faith in Christ Jesus we are saying that we believe that he died for our sins, we are accepting the gift that he gave us. We don’t have to do anything to satisfy the law because he did it all. 

Once we accept his gift and we choose to live our lives as his disciples, we honor the commandments that he gave us. To love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love one another. 

Colossians 2:13-14 tells us that “when you were dead in your sins and in the circumsicision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” Jesus told us in Matthew 7:12 “to do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets.” 

When we love God and love our fellow humans we will naturally live our lives according the plan that God devised when he gave Moses the ten commandments. No, we will not live sinless lives, our sinful nature is still in us until Christ comes back and we receive our glorified bodies, that is when we will be like him. But until that time, we are to strive to live Christlike lives. 

Paul told the church in Galatia that the entire law was summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

Heavenly Father,

We accept the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross for our sins. We understand that he was not a sinner and that the debt he paid for us was made by a perfect sacrifice. His sinless blood has covered the sins of every person who has ever or will ever live on the face of the earth. We thank you for sending him to earth for this purpose. It is amazing to us that he would willingly do this for us and that the law would be fulfilled in him. We thank you that we don’t have to try to live righteous lives, because we know that it would be impossible for us to do so.

Thank you for fulfilling the promise that you made to Father Abraham so many centuries ago. You are indeed a gracious God, a God of compassion and love, a God of justice and mercy. We honor you and give you praise because you are worthy of praise. Amen