A few more things we may see at the cross.
On the Cross we can see the end of all our sins. ‘And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all’ (Isaiah 53:6). If my iniquities have been laid upon Christ they are no longer on me. To be sure, there is still sin in me for I still carry the relic of my old Adamic nature and In will do until I die and shed this old body forever, but there is no more sin on me. I am no longer under condemnation. Why not? Because someone else has borne my punishment; someone else has taken the blame. ‘[He] Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree’ (1Peter 2:24). It is a principle of the law that you can only be punished once for the same offence. If someone else has taken my punishment, I am no longer under its penalty. If someone has taken on my debt I am no longer liable to pay it. On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest placed his hands upon a live goat, symbolically transferring to it all the sins of the Israelites, before releasing it into the desert. This looked forward to the day when God the Father would lay all our sins upon the Lord Jesus Christ and He would take them away. But what of future sins? Will I still incur the guilt of these? By no means! This is the wonder of the atonement- not only are our sins laid upon Christ, but His perfect obedience and righteousness are credited to us who believe. ‘For He has made Him who know no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’ (2Cor 5:21. cf. also Rom 5:19; 1Cor 1:30).
An anonymous writer of the early Christian era expresses the wonder of the atonement so well:
‘He Himself took upon Him our sins, Himself gave His own Son as a ransom for us…….For what could cover our sins but His righteousness? In whom was it possible for us, lawless and impious as we were, to be justified, save only in the Son of God? Oh, sweet exchange and unsearchable act of creation…..that the lawlessness of many should be hidden in the One righteous, and the righteousness of one should justify many who were lawless!’ (Epistle to Diognetus, IX).
So when God, as Judge, looks upon believers, He sees no sin in His people, but only the perfect righteousness of Christ. As Father, of course, He still sees our failings and lovingly corrects them, but as Judge, He sees none. ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’ (Heb 10:17). Christ has taken them away forever. ‘For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us’ (Psalm 103:11-12). Tetelestai. It is finished. It is the end of all our sins.
On the cross we see the fulfilment of the Law’s requirements. ‘The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good’ Romans 7:12).The fault is not in the law but in sinful man who cannot keep it. Yet the law must be kept, and kept by a man, so that it might be honoured and magnified, and its giver vindicated. ‘To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus’ (Romans 3:26. Cf. also 8:3-4) Christ has lived the life of perfect righteousness and obedience that we cannot live; he has fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law, and so have we, in Him.
Perhaps some personal testimony will be helpful here. My father was a difficult man, and we had a very uneasy relationship punctuated by some blazing rows. I can remember thinking to myself, “Why doesn’t the old fool shut up and leave me alone?” Then he was gone; carried away by a heart attack, long before I became a Christian. There was no time to say goodbye, much less apologize. How then can I keep Exodus 20:12 which bids me ‘Honour your father and mother’? It is no good trying to keep just the other nine commandments, even if I were able. James 2:10 tells me, ‘For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.’ Praise His name, Jesus Christ has come to my rescue. ‘Then He went down with [His parents] and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them’ (Luke 2:51). He has kept the law in my stead, and paid the penalty for my failure on the cross. It is finished. The law’s requirements are fulfilled.
Finally, on the cross we see, by the eye of faith, the defeat of Satan. The death of our Lord, that which appeared to be the Satan’s greatest victory, was in fact his death-knell. ‘For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil’ (1 John 2:8). The work of the devil was twofold: to plunge the world into sin and death and corruption, and to accuse mankind before God (Revelation 12:9-10). Christ’s work was to redeem a people from the great wreck of mankind, to pay the penalty for their sins in full and to take away the curse on the earth so that a restored and renewed people might live with God forever in a new heavens and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13).
Satan is defeated and it happened at the cross. ‘inasmuch as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil’ (Hebrews 2:14). No longer has Satan any claim on us. We don’t work for him any more (Rom 6:16-18). We are now the willing servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and we delight to do His will (Psalm 40:6-8). Nor any longer can he accuse us before God for our sins have been taken away (1 John 3:5). Tetelestai. It is finished. Satan’s power is broken and the day will come when it will be ended completely forever. In the meantime we are told, ‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you’ (James 4:7). He must, for our new Master is stronger than he.
We rest upon a finished work. ‘There is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1). There is no more to do- nothing we can do - to achieve salvation. “Come to Me all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Are you burdened, trying to earn your way to salvation? Come to Christ and rest. Then rise up to serve Him, not because you must but because you may; because Christ invites you to share in His glorious victory and to tell the good news to others.