What was Christ trying to tell us from the cross?
Jun 21, 2010
The Base for Grace - part four in a study of the book of Hebrews
Mike Gaudet
God is always speaking to us.
He speaks to us through creation.
He speaks to us through Jesus Christ.
What was Christ trying to tell us from the cross?
“In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” Hebrews 2:8-9
The Bible is neatly divided into two testaments. A “testament” is another word for a covenant.
A covenant is a formal treaty established between nations or individuals. Covenants include commandments, curses and blessings. The commandments detail the expectations placed on the covenant partners. The curses and blessings clarify consequences for disobedience and obedience to these commandments.
In the time of Moses, weaker nations often made covenants with stronger nations. When threatened by hostile forces, a nation in harm’s way would appeal to a stronger nation for protection. In return for this protection, the inferior nation (vassal) would promise to meet the demands made by the dominant nation (suzerain).
This is how we are to understand God’s dealings with Moses on Mt. Sinai. A covenant was formed. The Ten Commandments summarize God’s demands. The blessings and curses clarify the consequences of Israel’s obedience and disobedience to these demands.
It is important to understand that a covenant is a sacred obligation. Once it is ratified, it cannot be dismissed by a wave of the hand. It can only be undone by the death of one of the parties that entered into it.
Covenant accountability is annulled only by a coffin . . .
. . . or the cross!
This gets to the heart of why Jesus died for us.
Jesus was born a Jew. As one of the children of Israel, He was born under the authority of the Old Covenant.
Jesus was the only Jew (or Gentile for that matter) able to perfectly obey the covenant commandments. His death moved Him out from under the legal jurisdiction of old covenant law. Being sinless allows Him to “taste death for everyone.” His death can move us out from under the legal jurisdiction of old covenant law as well.
Jesus died on the cross so that we could come out from under the jurisdiction of law . . . and live to tell about it.
“Do you not know, brothers — for I am speaking to men who know the law — that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.” Romans 7:1-4
The Law of Moses is like a husband. Jesus Christ is like a second husband. One cannot be “married” to both husbands at the same time. This is spiritual adultery.
Because a covenant is legally binding “til death parts us,” only death can sever “marriage” to the Law. This is where Jesus’ death enters the picture. We “died to the law through the body of Christ” so that we might “belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead.” God is willing to include us in Jesus’ death so that we can be “”widows of the Law of Moses” and therefore legally “remarry” Jesus.
There is a story about a woman who married a very demanding man. He gave her a list of ten things that she needed to do for him . . . or else. She came to resent that list. When her husband passed away, she married a man who was far different. He placed no conditions on His love and acceptance. One day while she was cleaning, she came across the list. Memories of her first marriage and the bondage she felt resurfaced. She felt the anxiety that came from having to keep his laws in order to keep his love. As she scanned the list, she was surprised to discover that she was doing everything on the list and more for her present husband . . . but doing it out of the freedom of love rather than the duty of law.
God wants a relationship with you . . .
. . . a relationship based on love, not law.
This is what Jesus died to tell you.