Nailed to the Cross -- Again!Who nailed Jesus to the cross? Roman soldiers drove the actual nails through the hands and feet of our Savior (John 19:23; 20:25). The governor Pilate ordered the soldiers to crucify Jesus Christ (Mark 15:15). A Jewish mob demanded Pilate crucify Jesus (Matthew 27:22-24; Mark 15:11-14) and further intimidated Pilate by threatening to implicate him in treason if he did not agree to crucify Jesus (John 19:12-15). The Jewish priests, elders, scribes and the Sanhedrin, who delivered Jesus to Pilate, prompted the mob to call for the crucifixion of Christ (Matthew 27:20; Mark 15:1, 11). Did the Romans crucify Jesus? Yes. Did the Jews crucify Jesus? Yes, they were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Now consider for whom Jesus was crucified. Jesus said that he came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). By inspiration, the apostle Paul wrote that all mankind sins. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Also by divine inspiration, the apostle John recorded the same message. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10).For whom, then, was Jesus crucified upon the cross? Our Lord was crucified for the Roman soldiers who nailed him to the cross. Jesus died for Pilate who sent Jesus to be crucified and the Jews who clamored for the death of the Son of God. Jesus Christ died for those who lived in former times under Patriarchy and Judaism. “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15). Jesus was crucified for Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:11-22). Jesus died for every accountable soul who has ever lived or will live on planet earth, for we all have sinned or will be guilty of sin. For whom was Jesus crucified? Among others, Jesus was crucified on the cruel cross of Calvary for you and me. Essentially, you and I helped drive the nails through the flesh of Jesus as he was crucified! You and I put Jesus on the cross as surely as any character in first century Jerusalem. Contrary to popular but misguided theology, Jesus Christ was sacrificed literally only one time on the cross. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:24-28).However, especially for Christians to re-enter a life of sin is noted in Scripture as comparable to nailing Jesus to the cross -- again! “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Hebrews 6:4-6).When Christians abandon Christianity, they put from themselves the only spiritual remedy for their sins -- the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. There is not other sacrifice capable of remitting sins. “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:26-31).Dear Reader, are you, like me, sometimes guilty of nailing Jesus to the cross -- again? Through the frailty of humanity and deficient will power, I painfully find myself nailing Jesus to the cross with my sins over and over again. Do you, too, agonize over the sins with which you also crucify Christ afresh? We should not become nonchalant about our sins as though simply because of the more we sin the more grace God will bestow. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2).Yet, we can take comfort in the assurance of our Savior that he will forgive us each time we repent. “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).Every accountable soul ought to turn exclusively to God’s Word for instruction on how to be saved from his sins. The first outgrowth will be a faith that leads to salvation. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). This faith precedes repentance and immersion for the remission of sins. “. . . Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins . . .” (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-5). However, as the children of God, we also sometimes commit sin for which we need to repent and pray (Acts 8:22). Though as often as Christians repent, Jesus will forgive us, each child of God should strive for perfection (Matthew 5:48; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Colossians 4:12). |