| The Cross |
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George MacLeod said: 'Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on a town garbage heap; at a crossroads so cosmopolitan that they had to write His title in Hebrew, the language of the religious, Latin, the language of the barbarian, and Greek, the language of the cultured. It was the kind of place where cynics talked smut, thieves cursed and soldiers gambled. But it's where He died, and it's what He died about.'
Are any words more victorious? Jesus draws a deep breath, pushes His feet down on those Roman nails and cries: 'It is finished!' What was finished? The history-long plan of redeeming you and I was finished. The work done by Jesus as a man on earth was finished. The task of selecting and training ambassadors was finished. The song had been sung. The blood had been shed. The sacrifice made. The curse of sin broken. The sting of death removed. It was over. The words, 'It is finished' were the same words they wrote across a receipt when a debt had been paid in full. Was it any less acceptable? No! Would any more be required? No! 'It is finished! The cross is a trading post. At the point of believing faith, God takes all your sin and lays it on the shoulders of Jesus, while at the same time taking all of Christ's righteousness and wrapping you up in it. What a transfer! And how do you get it? By working for it? No! You receive it by trusting in Christ alone!
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