In an attempt to provide a message to share for His Cross we first want to provide some historical content and prophecy that led up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross. Starting with prophecy, we need to refer to the book of Isaiah in the Old Covenant texts. In Isaiah 53, the prophet Isaiah and author, gives very detailed insight as to what will take place with the crucifixion of Jesus. Ultimately the verse we are referring to is Isaiah 53:5. This was written and recorded by Isaiah during the time of 700-800 B.C., essentially 700-800 years before the birth of Jesus. Next we look to the historical facts around the invention and introduction of the crucifixion itself as a method of torture and death to man. The crucifixion was invented by the Persians in 6th century B.C. and introduced to Rome in the 3rd century B.C. During this time the Romans had a standing reputation of mastering acts of torture and punishment of man before ultimately putting them to death. The crucifixion was no exception and a method that the ancient Romans adopted, embraced, and perfected during these times. So, in summary, we have the prophecy of Isaiah pre-dating the introduction of the crucifixion to the Roman empire by 300-400 years and the crucifixion pre-dating Jesus’ birth by roughly the same amount of time.

As we focus on His cross and go deeper into the message, the verse of scripture that is at the core and the passion for the founding of Focus on the Cross ministry was written by the apostle Paul and is included below. Also understand, His cross is the foundation or bedrock of all biblical doctrine.

In this verse if the cross "is foolishness to those who are perishing" (the lost or spiritually dead) then one can make the claim that what the apostle Paul may have been alluding to would be that the opposite case would be true for those that are saved and living in Christ. If this is the case then we could conclude that the cross is the wisdom of God. In combining this with the second-half of the verse, that the cross is the power of God for those who are saved, then the cross represents the wisdom and power of God for all that are living in Him. So, by just looking at the disciples of Jesus, they were fixated on both of these attributes of Jesus during His ministry. The ones that were looking at the miracles that Jesus was doing during His ministry were seeing these acts as the power of God. For the ones that were fixated on His teachings, they were seeing the messages and parables from Jesus as the wisdom of God. Therefore, it is in the gospel of Jesus that we proclaim and share with the ministry of Focus on the Cross that His cross makes these truths.

Jesus carried all sin with Him to the cross; all past sin, all present sin, and all future sin. His cross should be a reminder for you of God’s grace and what he did for the atonement of all sin. This was done to fulfill His promise for every sinner. He selflessly carried His cross for you and I and stood in our place as a substitute to satisfy the wrath of God. The anger that God has towards sin and unrighteousness He dealt to His Son, Jesus, yet he is the only one righteous and free of sin. Therefore, the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross is the only way to fill the broken void between the righteous God and sinful man. To come at this from another angle, if God were viewing you through a lens He must see the red blood of Jesus that was shed on His cross in order for you to be seen righteous in the eyes of God.

While on His cross Jesus made several short statements that we all need to hear. One that stands out is when he said “it is finished” as for one this meant that the debt of death was paid by Him. Additionally, after making this statement, ”He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” not overshadowing all that this statement encompassed, as the finished work of Jesus is the very foundation of the gospel, one that we must never forget is that he satisfies the righteous wrath of God on His cross for all of us that are unequivocally unrighteous.

An over-arching goal of the efforts of the ministry of Focus on the Cross is that we are planting seeds that will land on fertile soil. Understanding that not all seed will, it is still our hope that God is using us as a vessel to grow His kingdom by pointing others to the ministry for a deeper understanding of what His cross represents. As sinners we are not immune to all that the world presents and see first-hand all that satan, the prince of this world, is doing to distract us from Jesus and from His cross. Please understand that His cross and His death on the cross was the defeat of satan. This may not be obvious due to all the evil that we see each and every day in the world; however, satan knows this to be true and will not give up on spreading evil until Jesus returns. We also operate with the understanding that repenting of sin and giving your life to Jesus is not a spontaneous decision for any of us but is that of answering the call of Christ our Lord and Savior. This calling is a calling for your salvation…through God’s grace. This calling also requires a daily walk with Christ leading you to a transformation. As believers in Him, Jesus warns us that “if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18 – NKJV). So, with all the weight and burden that Jesus carried with His cross for us, our hope is for you to pick up your cross and follow Jesus.

There are several more attributes of God that are magnified by His cross so we want to highlight a couple more to share in this short message. Just to name a few more that may not have been stated, His cross represents the love of God, the goodness of God, the mercy of God, the justice of God, the holiness of God, and the simplicity of God. Again, we are not claiming to have all of the attributes of God that were displayed on His cross identified here and are just sharing as even more reason to Focus on the Cross!

As His story is shared in the gospel, we put Jesus on the cross because that is just how bad, sinful, and unrighteous mankind is at our core. So with that being said, one must also understand that we may have put Jesus on the cross; however, do not think that we were in control of His death and on His cross. For He took His last breath when He decided it to be done…not from any acts of mankind that put Him on the cross. This same power of God with by taking the life of His Son, at His time and command, is the same power that brought Jesus out of the grave after three days. Do not just take our word for it and refer to what Jesus said which is recorded in the book of John… John 10:17-18.

In conclusion of the message on His Cross, we want to highlight what Jesus said to His disciples on how we should respond as one of His followers. Refer to the scripture from the book of Matthew listed below.