At the Cross We Are Saved and Forgiven

John 20:1-18
This week we have entered a most sacred time of the church year with Good Friday being a most sombre and powerful event. Yet, it is interesting that for some the resurrection of Christ is the highlight of the season.

Perhaps we may wish to bypass the cross and its suffering and head to the glory of the resurrection of Christ. But before the resurrection we must have the cross with Christ’s suffering and death and all of its implications. Because it is at the cross that we are saved. At the cross forgiveness is given. At the cross that God has restored that vital relationship with his children, a relationship torn apart by sin. It is at the cross that not only is God’s righteousness, but his boundless love revealed, although hidden in Christ’s death.

But it is the resurrection that solidifies it all. Because as St Paul writes to the Corinthians, If Christ has not been raised then both his preaching and our faith are useless, but as St Paul continues: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).
Pastor Darryl