A Journey Through His Life, Teachings, and Eternal Purpose
Look at the Cross
The Life of Jesus Christ | Part Six
Introduction
We’ve looked at how Jesus Christ lived, the extraordinary things He did, and the truth He taught. But to understand why He came into the world, we must also look at the Cross. It is here that we begin to understand the seriousness of our sin, the depth of God’s love, and what Jesus Christ accomplished for our salvation.
Everything in the earthly life of Jesus was moving toward the Cross. His death was not an unexpected tragedy, and it didn’t mean that His mission had failed. Jesus knew why He had come, and He knew that the Cross was part of the reason He came.
01 | He Knew the Cross Was Ahead
Long before His arrest, Jesus began telling His disciples that He would suffer, be killed, and rise again. They didn’t fully understand what He was telling them. Peter even tried to tell Jesus that these things would never happen to Him. But Jesus knew that the Cross was ahead.
And when the time came, no one took His life from Him against His Will. Jesus gave it willingly. John 10:17–18 (NLT) tells us, “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
Think about that as we look at the Cross. Jesus was betrayed. He was arrested. He was falsely accused, mocked, beaten, and crucified. Those things were done to Him by sinful people, and Scripture does not excuse their actions. But they didn’t take Jesus by surprise, and they didn’t derail the Father’s plan. Jesus knew what was coming, and He willingly continued toward the Cross.
02 | Because We Needed a Savior
Why?
Because we needed a Savior.
Sin had created a separation between humanity and God that we could not repair ourselves. Romans 3:23 tells us that everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard. None of us could make ourselves righteous before a holy God. Being a good person could not do it. Religious activity could not do it. Our own efforts could not remove our sin.
03 | He Took Our Sins Upon Himself
So Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves.
He lived the sinless life we could not live, and on the Cross, He took our sins upon Himself. 1 Peter 2:24 (NLT) tells us, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” Jesus was not dying for His own sin. He had none. He was dying for ours. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT) says, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” The innocent One took the place of the guilty. He bore our sin so that we could be forgiven and brought back into relationship with God.
Romans 5:8 (NLT) says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” The Cross shows us the seriousness of our sin, but it also shows us the depth of God’s love for us. God did not wait for us to become worthy of salvation. We couldn’t. Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
This is why we cannot reduce Jesus to a teacher who came to help us become better people. We needed more than instruction. We needed forgiveness. We needed reconciliation with God. We needed salvation.
And Jesus came to provide it.
04 | Salvation Is God’s Gift of Grace
The Cross changed what was possible for us. Because of what Jesus did, forgiveness is available. We can be reconciled to God. We can be made right with Him, not because we earned it, but because of what Christ accomplished for us.
And salvation is not something we receive because we have finally become good enough for God. Ephesians 2:8–9 tells us that we are saved by God’s grace through faith, not by our own works. We come to God through Jesus Christ, trusting in what He has done rather than what we can do for ourselves.
05 | And Still He Went
The Cross also shows us just how far the love of God was willing to go to save us. Jesus knew the suffering that awaited Him, and still He went. He knew He would be rejected, mocked, beaten, and crucified, and still He went. He knew the weight of what He would bear for us, and still He went.
Conclusion | But the Cross Was Not the End
But the Cross was not the end.
Jesus died.
He was buried.
And on the third day, the tomb was empty.
IN THIS TEACHING
01 He Knew the Cross Was Ahead
03 He Took Our Sins Upon Himself
04 Salvation Is God’s Gift of Grace
✓ Conclusion | More Than Good Advice
THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST
PREVIOUS TEACHING
CURRENT TEACHING
06 — Look at the Cross
COMING NEXT
07— He Is Alive—and He Is Coming Again
SCRIPTURES IN THIS TEACHING
John 10:17–18
Romans 3:23
1 Peter 2:24
2 Corinthians 5:21
Romans 5:8
Ephesians 2:8–9
Scripture references from the New Living Translation (NLT).
NEXT TEACHING · PART SEVEN
He Is Alive—and He Is Coming Again
The Cross was not the end of Jesus Christ’s mission. On the third day, He rose from the dead. In our next teaching, we’ll look at His Resurrection, His Ascension, and His promise to return.
The Cross Was Not the End
Jesus Christ willingly gave His life to accomplish what we could never accomplish for ourselves. Through His sacrifice, forgiveness and reconciliation with God became available to us. The Cross reveals both the seriousness of sin and the extraordinary love of God. But the One who died for our sins did not remain in the grave. On the third day, something happened that changed everything.
The Life of Jesus Christ-Part
