The Cross Changes Everything

The Cross Changes Everything! Mercy was poured out on the cross. My judgment was removed at the cross. Love was personified on the cross. Satan was judged at the cross. Redemption was secured at that cross. The cross means everything to us. And tonight, we are going to look at how the cross changes everything for those who believe. So, over the next few minutes, I’d like to open God’s Word from Isaiah 53:1-5 to show us just how much Jesus sacrifice on the cross changes everything.

First: Without the cross, we would not know God’s power In these first three verses Isaiah describes the spiritual blindness of those who will look upon Jesus and dismiss him as totally irrelevant. That is, until he lays down His life on that cross. Here’s that prophecy: Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Isaiah 53:1-3

To get a feel for the spiritual blindness of those who would look upon Jesus and dismiss Him, Isaiah calls Jesus, “the arm of the Lord.” This is literally a description of the Son of God, in ALL HIS POWER.

You see, when Jesus came to live among us, no one saw Him this way. And the reason they didn’t see God’s power in Him, was that they were looking for man’s image of power. They were looking for someone strong and dynamic – a man among men – a leader among leaders. A man powerful in stature, dignified and impressive. But when they looked upon Jesus, he had no beauty or majesty to attract us him. In fact, there was nothing physically noticeable about Jesus that stood out at all

This is what we do: We gage the quality of a person by their outward appearance. Those who looked upon Jesus and dismissed him, did so because Jesus was not what they were looking for. That’s what “despised” means: People dismissed Jesus because he was not physically impressive. They could see nothing in his appearance that they valued. They saw no dignity, no power, no majesty, So rather than embrace him, they dismissed Him.

However, with this description, Isaiah completes his diagnosis of the human condition and that is this: To see God’s Son and find no value in Him, exposes the spiritual bankruptcy of the human heart. And what Isaiah concluded in his prediction is echoed in the New Testament: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4
In other words, without the help of the Holy Spirit, every single person who looks on Christ would be blind to the true power of Jesus. But at the cross, we see a different kind of power in on display.

On that cross see the dignity of God’s Son who surrendered to the powers of the day, so He could save us by His death.

On that cross we see the power of a Savior who willingly shed His blood to set us free from the power of sin.

On that cross we see the majesty of the King who was lifted up to take the punishment in His body that each one of us deserves.

This One who had no beauty to attract us to Him, did the most beautiful thing for us. By His blood He paid the debt of our sin. By His blood He paid the price to set us free. By His blood He removed God’s wrath that was set against us and made it possible for us to be made right with God. On that cross “the arm of the Lord” – was revealed in Jesus, because Jesus did for you what you could not do for yourself.

So now, when you look to the cross, and put your trust in what Jesus, you will experience God’s saving power: You’ll experience His power to change your destiny. You’ll experience His power to set you free from sin. And you experience His power to make you right with God. to reconcile this relationship that was broken by your sin. Without the cross, we would never know God’s power. But now that the arm of the Lord has revealed God’s power, the cross can change your life forever. For on that cross Jesus did for you what you cannot do for yourself. That’s God’s grace personified on that cross. Jesus died to save you. That’s the first beautiful truth of the cross. Here’s the second:

Without the cross, we would not know God’s mercy: Isaiah details three ways Jesus gave us mercy at the cross. First, Jesus took up our pain and bore our suffering.

In other words, When Jesus went to the cross, he took the punishment you deserve. This is the good news of the cross. No matter what you have done. No matter who you’ve hurt, or no matter how much you deserve to be punished for your sins, God sent His only Son to the cross to take upon Himself what you deserve. He did this by becoming your substitute.

And when He did this, with every drop of blood that poured from his body, Jesus literally “lifted God’s wrath” off of you. He removed God’s judgment from us.. Therefore, on that cross, Jesus died the death you and I deserve – so you that now, if you have put your trust in Jesus, you will never have to die. For if you’ve trusted in what Jesus did for you on that cross, the New Testament declares: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 For the moment you put your trust in what Jesus did for you, you are freed from the guilt of your sin. You never have to fear God’s judgment. That’s what mercy does. It withholds the punishment you deserve. That’s the mercy of the cross. That’s just the first reality of God’s mercy seen on the cross. Here’s the second reality:

Isaiah told us that, He was pierced for our transgressions. This word “pierced” speaks of a death wound and means “to pierce fatally.” This is what happened on the cross. Jesus was fatally wounded for your transgressions.

What are your transgressions? Transgressions are rebellious acts of sin that we willingly chose to commit. God set-up certain boundaries for us to live within. And now, whenever we willingly cross one of those boundaries, that’s what the Bible calls sin. That’s why sins are never just mistakes that we make. Transgressions are always a choice. We chose to rebel against God’s law. We chose to do what want, not what God wants. That’s the definition of a rebel.

But here’s the good news: While you willfully chose to defy God, Jesus was willing to receive the death blow you deserve. That’s God’s mercy. Every transgression, every rebellious act or defiant thought you’ve ever made, God can forgive because Jesus was pierced for your transgressions. Not only that,

But He was crushed for our iniquities. Iniquities are different from transgressions. These are our secret sins. Iniquities are the part of our human nature that’s been distorted by sin so that we hold onto hate, are greedy, pursue lusts, live selfishly, hold onto envy and act maliciously. You can live a perfectly moral life on the outside, but your inside can be full of iniquities. You can act righteous to others, but you have no power to cleanse your soul of your secret sins. That’s what Jesus addressed during his earthly ministry, when he pronounced judgment on the religious leaders saying: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.” Matthew 23:25,27

This is what Jesus did for you on the cross. He was crushed for the garbage hidden in our souls. All of our hidden sins were placed on Him, and He was crushed under the weight of our perversions. When Jesus took your place on that cross, he took your perversions upon Himself to wash away your sins and save you from the consequences of that sin. That’s the life changing good news of the cross. Jesus was crushed for your iniquities, not just to set you free from your guilt, but also your shame. That’s what makes the cross such a life changer. When you believe in Jesus, Jesus washes away your sin. He takes away your shame. Now, God will never hold your secret sins against you. That’s mercy and it’s found at the cross. Jesus removed God’s Wrath. Jesus took the death blow you deserved. Jesus set you free from guilt and shame. What mercy God reveals to us on the cross.

Now, there’s one last amazing blessing God gives us at the cross; and it’s this: Without the cross, we would not know God’s Peace Listen now as Isaiah spells this out for us: the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed Isaiah 53:5b.

In other words, When Jesus took the punishment we deserve, He made it possible to heal our broken relationship with God: Jesus’ death on that cross reconciled us to God. He gave us peace with God. That’s why the cross changes everything.

Now, when you put your trust in Jesus, you can know God’s love and God’s acceptance. There’s no more fear. No more guilt. No more shame. Everything that ever stood in the way of knowing God’s acceptance has been removed. Jesus’ death has healed your relationship with the Father. Now you never have to worry if God will accuse you, punish you, abandon or reject you. Instead, you get to live as the object of His steadfast love. Now you can know a peace that can never be shaken. That’s how the cross changes everything.

And that’s why Jesus could say as he hung on that cross: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” And why Jesus could say to the thief on the cross by saying, “Today, you will be with me in paradise,” And why when Jesus was about to breath his last, he could say: “It is finished.” For at that moment on the cross, Jesus finished what He had come to do – to provide your salvation, to remove your judgment, and to make you right with God forever. That’s how the cross changes everything. For…

On the cross Jesus revealed God’s power to save us when we could not save ourselves. On the cross Jesus gave us mercy that none of us deserved.
On that cross Jesus the punishment that brought us peace was on Him

For on that cross God gave us a Savior, His name is Jesus. And now Scripture declares: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 So, let me ask you tonight? If the cross changes everything, has Jesus’ work on the cross changed you?

Has Jesus saved you, or are you still trying to save yourself?
Has Jesus removed God’s wrath from you, or are you still living with fear and shame? Has Jesus made you right with God so that you know His peace? That’s how the cross changes everything… Has the cross changed you? It can change your life tonight, if you turn from trusting in yourself, and put your trust in Jesus.