The Cross Is For Everyone
There once lived a man named Isaiah. He lived on Earth about 2700 years ago and he was a prophet. He wrote this account of what would happen to Jesus.
“Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?”
The servant grew up before God—
a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about Him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at Him and people turned away.
We looked down on Him, thought He was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains He carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought He brought it on Himself,
that God was punishing Him for His own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to Him,
that ripped and tore and crushed Him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through His bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep
who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins,
everything we’ve done wrong,
on Him, on Him.
He was beaten, He was tortured,
but He didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
He took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and He was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for His own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried Him with the wicked,
threw Him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though He’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush Him with pain.
The plan was that He give Himself
as an offering for sin so that He’d see life
come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through Him.
Out of that terrible travail of soul,
He’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad He did it.
Through what He experienced, My righteous one,
My servant, will make many “righteous ones,”
as He Himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward Him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because He looked death in the face
and didn’t flinch, because He embraced
the company of the lowest.
He took on His own shoulders the sin of the many,
He took up the cause of all the black sheep.
It is an amazing portrayal of what was to come, and what happened to Jesus our Lord. It was a historical event that changed the history of the world. It changed my history. And when you’re reading this, it can change yours.
JESUS DIED FOR US TO CARRY OUR SIN
Sin separated us from God and there is no one who would have been able to fix that gap. Only Jesus could. Jesus piled all our sins, everything we did wrong, on Himself. Every sin you’ve ever committed, every lie you’ve said, every evil thought you’ve had, anything you’ve perhaps stolen, anything bad you’ve ever done, anything that has made you feel guilty or condemned, God took that upon Himself and He paid the price for YOUR sin.
One of my favourite stories in the bible about Jesus is about the woman who was caught in the act of adultery. They brought her to Jesus and had her at His feet. They wanted Jesus to condemn her. But Jesus knew that He was going to pay the price for her sin, so He didn’t condemn her, He set her free.
John 8:1-11 (NIV)
At dawn He appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around Him, and He sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
JESUS DIED FOR US TO HEAL US AND MAKE US WHOLE
Every sickness, every disease, every virus anything that has happened on Earth, Jesus took that upon himself. Not only did He carry our sin, but He also carried our sickness so that we could get victory over sickness. He’s gone down to hell and taken the keys of the enemy to give us victory over sickness. If you are sick and need healing, Jesus said, “He took the punishment, and that made us whole, through His bruises we get healed.”
JESUS DIED TO TAKE UP THE CAUSE OF THE BLACK SHEEP
One of our pastors, Pastor Paul has such a testimony of grace. He lost his dad, rebelled, was angry and went away from the Lord. But things turned around and now he has a life testimony, one of redemption and restoration that is so impactful. My story is like his, I was a black sheep too. Black sheep are known as the representation of something bad, a label for bringing shame and embarrassment. Maybe you’ve been known as that, or even called that. But Jesus died to take up the cause of the black sheep. He died FOR YOU and He’s calling you back with a plan and a purpose. No matter what you have done, Jesus will forgive you.
JESUS DIED TO GIVE US A VICTORIOUS LIFE
The enemy came to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus came to give you life – not just life to survive, but life to thrive. When Jesus died on the Cross, He gave us access to a life full of power and might with the Holy Spirit and then also eternal life!
JESUS DIED TO PROVE HIS LOVE FOR US
Jesus had an agenda. It was because of love and His death on the Cross for us was proof of that. Romans 8:38 says that “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. You have the choice to separate yourself. But Jesus will do everything He can to run after you, to chase after you, only because He loves you so very much.
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*Extracted from ‘The Cross Is For Everyone’ sermon by Jemima Varughese
Jemima is married to Mark and leads Kingdomcity Communications Ltd. They have two sons, Zeke and Caleb.