Concept:
As we focus on the cross, we all have images and 
emotions that immediately begin to come up out of 
the inside of us. We should remember the suffering 
and pain that Jesus endured for you and me. We 
never want to minimize the agony that the cross 
displays before us.

I am sure we all have seen pictures that show 
the whipped back, and nail pierced hands and feet. 
Jesus took my place of death, even though I was 
the one who legally should have been on the cross. 
Scripture and experience show us that it is 
difficult to get someone to die in the place of 
someone else. But there is no greater demonstration 
of love than to lay down your life for a friend. 
Jesus not only laid down his life for us but He 
decided to do it for us before the foundation of 
the world. How could I possibly doubt the love 
of a savior who chooses to die in my place before 
I ever came to the earth? A just God who predestined 
to pay the ransom price before there is a ransom price. 
Wow! Of course the ransom price was the shed blood of 
Christ on the cross. God set the price so high that 
only He could pay for me. That is an amazing truth 
that needs to penetrate our soulish realm.

What a commitment by the Trinity to guarantee that 
our fellowship had the potential to stay intact at 
all times. Jesus submitted to be made sin who knew 
no sin so that you and I could be made the righteousness 
of Christ and be set free from the debt and death of 
sin once and for all. (Hebrews 2:14,15; Romans 5:21) 
All I have to do is to receive the finished work of 
the cross and begin to apply the truth that it displays. 
It becomes an act of my will to receive or reject what 
Jesus accomplished on that “Old Rugged Cross”.

The cross not only plays a pivotal part of my life 
but it also is a central theme through out the Bible. 
Old Testament saints were looking forward to the 
cross. Every sacrifice that was made on the brazen 
altar pointed to the ultimate sacrifice that was 
going to take place on the cross. Every drop of 
blood that was sprinkled on the mercy seat and the 
ground was pointing to the blood that would be shed 
on Calvary. When the prophets were writing they kept 
declaring that there would be a day when the Messiah 
would come-not just come- but also become the sacrifice. 
Isaiah 53 paints a picture of what was going to take 
place on the cross. Moses showed in Leviticus 16, how 
to get a release from sin for a year, only to foreshadow 
what the cross would do for eternity. As there was a 
detailed explanation of each sacrifice, there was more 
than an animal being killed; there was an outline of a 
picture that The Cross would bring to full light. The prophet 
Malachi verbally chastised the children of Israel because 
they were bringing animals that were blind, lame, and blemished 
to be sacrificed. I am sure they were wondering what the 
big deal was because the animal was going to be killed 
anyway. But it was a big deal, since these animals were 
representing the sacrifice that Jesus was going to make 
and He was not blemished in anyway. Of course, the greatest 
picture of the cross was in Exodus 12, when the Passover was 
given to the children of Israel. The lamb was slain and the 
blood became a covering, which kept death from touching each 
household. The victory of the blood was so great that every 
one of the Israelites were allowed to leave bondage, healed 
and prosperous. That was just a picture of the power that was 
released when The Lamb went to the cross.

The New Testament verified the Old Testament in the sense 
that, the types and shadows of the Old Testament 
became a reality in the New Testament. Jesus 
accomplished the purpose of His Father by submitting 
to His will and suffering the pain and shame of the 
cross. When darkness covered the earth for three 
hours, my darkness was taken away. When He was whipped, 
I became healed. When His blood was shed on the cross, 
the curse of the law was removed. When the Eternal Spirit 
carried His blood into the Holy of Holies, I was released 
from the guilt and penalty of sin. We are free from the 
bondage of sin and have become a new creation that is 
righteous in the eyes of the Father. 

As I stated earlier, not only is the cross a dividing 
line between the New and Old Testament, but it is also 
a dividing line for all living humanity. Are we going 
to receive the finished work of the cross? Are we going 
to take up the cross and follow the example that the 
cross portrays of death to self? Will I allow the 
purifying work of the blood to change me and accomplish 
God’s purpose in me? Am I willing to forsake all and 
follow the radical example of sacrifice that is portrayed 
by a suffering savior? Is there a willingness to know Him 
in the pain of His suffering?  Hopefully, all of these 
questions are answered with a resounding Amen! Therefore, 
let us agree together that areas of our lives that are not 
like Christ will be transformed by the sanctifying work
that Christ accomplished on the cross. Let’s look at the 
scriptures that show the concept and reality of the cross 
and believe the Word to transform us.

Seven Last Sayings on the Cross

1. Matthew 27:46

2. Luke 23:34

3. Luke 23:43

4. Luke 23:46

5. John 19:27

6. John 19:28

7. John 19:30

Old Testament Pictures of the Cross

1. Exodus 12:6-10

2. Exodus 15:25,26

3. Exodus 17:5-7

4. Exodus 15:25

5. Numbers 20:6-8

6. Numbers 21:4-8

Scripture on the Cross

1. Deuteronomy 21:22,23

2. Joshua 8:29

3. Joshua 10:26

4. Galatians 3:13

5. II Samuel 21:9-14

6. Isaiah 53:12

7. John 10:11

8. John 12:23,24

9. Romans 5:6

10. I Corinthians 15:3

11. II Corinthians 5:15

12. John 15:13

13. Galatians 1:4

14. Ephesians 5:2

15. Titus 2:14

16. I John 3:16

17. Hebrews 9:26

18. I Peter 3:18

19. Revelations 1:5

20. Isaiah 53:7

21. John 1:29

22. I Corinthians 5:7

23. I Peter 1:18,19

24. Revelation 7:9

25. Hebrews 9:28

26. I Peter 2:24

27. Matthew 8:17

28. I John 3:5

29. Hebrews 2:9

30. Matthew 16:24

31. Matthew 27:32

32. Matthew 27:40-42

33. Luke 14: 27

34. John 19:17-19

35. Acts 2:23

36. I Corinthians 1:17,18

37. Galatians 5:11

38. Galatians 6:12-14

39. Ephesians 2:16

40. Philippians 2:8

41. Philippians 3:18

42. Colossians 1:20

43. Colossians 2:14,15

44. Hebrews 12:2

45. Matthew 20:19

46. Matthew 26:2

47. Mathew 27:26

48. Matthew 27:35

49. Mark 15:15

50. Mark 15:32

51. Mark 16:6

52. Luke 23:23

53. John 19:38-42

54. Acts 2:36

55. Acts 4:10

56. Romans 6:6

57. I Corinthians 1:13

58. I Corinthians 1:23

59. I Corinthians 2:2

60. I Corinthians 2:8

61. II Corinthians 13:4  

62. Galatians 2:20

63. Galatians 3:1

64. Galatians 5:24

65. Galatians 6:14

 

Summary:
As you read the scriptures on the cross, I 
know that the Lord has given you revelation 
on what took place as He was made a curse for 
us. We need to be able to appropriate into our 
lives what Jesus paid for on the cross. The 
full payment was made, and a just God is 
satisfied. We can’t allow the deceiver of 
the brethren to deceive us into thinking 
there is more to pay.  Grace loses its power 
in our lives if the devil can get us over into 
a mindset of works to receive. I receive by 
grace and then I work because of my great love. 
The cross is what I can always look at and know 
of the great grace that the Father has for me. 
How could I ever doubt that He wants to work on 
my behalf after I see the cross? The Father did 
not just talk about love, but He demonstrated it 
right before me by going to the cross and dying 
in my place. Not only just dying, but being made 
sin, so I could be made righteous. Not just dying, 
but being made a curse so I could get rid of the 
curse. Not just dying but destroying the power of 
death over me, so I can live in joy and not heaviness. 
Allow this revelation of the finished work of the 
cross to come alive in your life. We are not waiting 
anymore-it is finished!

Action:
Take Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21:22,23; and 
Joshua 8:29 and begin to memorize and meditate 
on them. Write down the things that the Lord 
begins to show you and then apply it to your life.