The Cross

This Palm Sunday, one week before Resurrection Sunday, we will shift our focus. We will bypass the triumphal entry into Jerusalem with its palm branches and shouts of "Hosanna," and we will not dwell on Jesus' agony in Gethsemane or His mock trials before Pilate.

While these events are vitally important to the story of Christ, today we want to hone in on the ultimate reason our Savior came—the singular purpose for which He willingly left His throne in glory and humbled Himself as a man: to give His life as a ransom for many.

Today, we will fix our gaze on the cross. Historically, it was a hated symbol of Roman power and a cruel instrument of death, foreshadowed in prophecy centuries before its use as a means of execution. To many, the message of the cross is foolishness, yet for His followers, it is the ultimate expression of God's wisdom and power (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Crucially, it is not the physical cross itself that brings salvation, but the finished work of our Savior upon it—His willing sacrifice to die such a death for us, in our place.

As 1 Peter 2:24 (ESV) proclaims: "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed."

Jesus, the sinless Son of God, willingly stepped into our place, taking the full wrath of God against sin upon Himself on the cross. This ultimate act provides our forgiveness, reconciliation with God, and the gift of eternal life. Today, we remember the Cross.