<\/p>\n
The cross. To some this represents the ultimate act of foolishness, and to others the ultimate act of love and sacrifice. The reality of the cross is that it comes with contrasts. Yet when you examine them thoroughly, you will discover they are beautiful in nature.<\/p>\n
In this season, when we think more deeply about the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, I want you to remember six contrasts that the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus represent.<\/p>\n
In John\u2019s gospel we are reminded of who Jesus is.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made\u201d (John 1:1-3).<\/p>\n
In these first few verses, John establishes that Jesus was co-eternal with the Father. He was also co-equal and co-existent with the Father. We also see that Jesus was responsible for creation. But then later in the chapter we see a contrast appear. The one who was the creator became the created.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Word became flesh\u202fand made his dwelling among us\u201d (John 1:14).<\/p>\n
Before there could ever be a cross, Jesus first had to become like us. The beauty of this is that he did it so in turn we could become like him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am\u202fthe good shepherd.\u202fThe good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep\u201d (John 10:11).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life\u2014only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.\u202fI have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father\u201d (John 10:17-18).<\/p>\n
In this passage we see that Jesus willingly laid down his life. No one forced him to \u2013 he chose to. On purpose Jesus laid down his life, submitted to the will of the Father and let go of any rights he had for one simple reason. So that he could provide a way for you and I to go free. His submission bought us freedom.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Photo credit:\u00a0Unsplash\/Aaron Burden<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSurely he took up our pain But he was pierced\u202ffor our transgressions, (Isaiah 53:4-5)<\/p>\n The words punishment and peace don\u2019t even belong in the same sentence, but again it points to the beautiful contrast we see in the cross. God took all the rightly deserved punishment for sin that should have been placed on us and he put that all on Jesus.<\/p>\n Honestly that doesn\u2019t seem fair because he didn\u2019t deserve it, but there again is another contrast. He didn\u2019t deserve punishment, but he took it so that we who didn\u2019t deserve peace would be able receive to have peace with God. This is one reason why the cross truly represents the love of God in action.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all\u202fsin\u201d (1 John 1:7).<\/p>\n \u201cHow much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit\u202foffered himself\u202funblemished to God, cleanse our consciences\u202ffrom acts that lead to death,\u202fso that we may serve the living God!\u201d (Hebrews 9:14).<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood,\u202fand without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness\u201d (Hebrews 9:22).<\/p>\n Blood is one of the hardest stains to remove. If you ever watch shows that deal with forensics, sometimes people would commit a crime and in the process of committing the crime, blood would be spilled. The criminal would try to clean up the blood, but when the forensics team comes, they spray luminol which detects trace amounts of blood at crime scenes. The bottom line is if you want to clean something, you don\u2019t use blood. Yet when it came to cleansing our sin, blood was exactly what was used. What a contrasting statement to make, the cleansing blood of Jesus.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, there is another benefit of the blood of Jesus. It leaves an eternal mark on us that can never be washed away. Satan, no matter how hard he tries, can\u2019t get around the blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you have sinned, failed or really messed up, the blood is there to clean you up, and Satan can\u2019t get past that.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThen I heard a loud voice in heaven\u202fsay:\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Now have come the salvation\u202fand the power For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, They triumphed over\u202fhim (Revelation 12:10-11).<\/p>\n Thank God for the cleansing blood of Jesus that will never lose its power.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photo credit:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a9Getty Images\/BERKO85<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGod made him who had no sin\u202fto be sin\u202ffor us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:21).<\/p>\n In the old days, they used to use a barter system. People might bring a dozen eggs to the store and exchange them for a pound of flour. Bartering was all about even exchange.\u00a0When you break it down, the cross is really a barter system. The difference is the exchange is not even.\u00a0We bring him our broken, sinful condition and he exchanges that for his perfect righteousness.\u00a0There cannot be a bigger contrast than that.<\/p>\n Consider for a moment what happens at the cross.\u00a0<\/p>\n – You come guilty<\/strong>, you leave justified<\/strong>.<\/p>\n – You come broken<\/strong>, you leave whole<\/strong>.<\/p>\n – You come a sinner<\/strong>, you leave forgiven<\/strong>.<\/p>\n – You come dead\u00a0<\/strong>to God, you leave alive\u00a0<\/strong>to God in Christ.\u00a0<\/p>\n – You come an old\u00a0<\/strong>man, you leave a new\u00a0<\/strong>creation in Christ.<\/p>\n – You come humble<\/strong>, you leave seated in heavenly places<\/strong>.<\/p>\n – You come in bondage\u00a0<\/strong>and a slave to sin, you leave free\u00a0<\/strong>from the power of sin.<\/p>\n – You come carrying the weight\u00a0<\/strong>of eternal damnation, you leave with the hope\u00a0<\/strong>of eternal life.\u00a0<\/p>\n – You come with all your ugly\u00a0<\/strong>stuff, and he turns it into something beautiful<\/strong>.<\/p>\n – You come with your sin<\/strong>, and leave with his righteousness<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Let\u2019s never underestimate the great exchange that happens at the cross, the ultimate barter system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jesus replied,\u202f\u201cThe hour\u202fhas come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies,\u202fit remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds\u201d (John 12:23-24).<\/p>\n The last contrast to consider is that it was his death that produced life. His horrible death on a cross opened the way for you and I to have eternal life. Can there be a greater contrast than that? Sinless perfection died so that sinful men and women could live. There really is no greater love displayed than that.<\/p>\n As you remember the cross and the great sacrifice made for you, I want to remind you of this old song.<\/p>\n \u201cI will cherish the old rugged cross. When it is all said and done, that will be the last contrast and exchange. The cross of Jesus for the crown of eternal life. My prayer today is that we who carry this message would represent it well and share it with those around us. Let us be true ambassadors and bring the hope of Jesus to a dying world who needs to hear it more than ever.<\/p>\n More from this author<\/strong> Photo credit: Unsplash\/Alicia Quan<\/span><\/p>\n Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a dynamic speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club, dedicated to helping people live with purpose and clarity. In addition to his ministry work, Clarence has spent the last 13 years as a trusted financial educator, guiding thousands of people across the country\u2014including employees at many Fortune 500 companies\u2014toward lasting financial wellness. His unique ability to blend practical wisdom with spiritual insight equips people to thrive in every area of life.<\/p>\n He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose, which helps readers understand how God leads them into his will, and the author of The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has released his first course, Bible Study Basics, to achieve that goal. To learn more about his ministry and resources, please visit clarencehaynes.com.<\/p>\n Originally published March 27, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The cross. To some this represents the ultimate act of foolishness, and to others the ultimate act of love and sacrifice. The reality of the cross is that it comes with contrasts. Yet when you examine them thoroughly, you will discover they are beautiful in nature. In this season, when we think more deeply about<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[8220,535,6757,3773],"class_list":["post-24704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-christian-living","tag-contrasts","tag-cross","tag-easter","tag-incredible"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}3. Punishment to Bring Peace<\/strong><\/h2>\n
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.<\/p>\n
he was crushed\u202ffor our iniquities;
the punishment\u202fthat brought us peace\u202fwas on him,
and by his wounds\u202fwe are healed.\u201d<\/p>\n4. Blood to Bring Cleansing<\/strong><\/h2>\n
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.<\/p>\n
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.<\/p>\n
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony.\u201d<\/p>\n5. His Righteousness for My Sin<\/strong><\/h2>\n
6. Death to Bring Life<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Conclusion\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it one day for a crown.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Other Side of Your Obedience
7 Tips to Help Improve Your Bible Study Time
3 Truths about How God Sees Prayer from Hebrews 4<\/p>\n