Pastor's Corner: 'On the cross: Our Redeemer and Savior'

By Rev. Edroy “Curt” Curtis

President of Greater Havre Area Ministerial Association and lead pastor of Havre Assembly of God Church

As we look forward to celebrating Christ’s resurrection this coming Easter Sunday, today is a “Good Friday” to contemplate what Jesus Christ was doing on “the Old Rugged Cross” on that fateful Friday.

Galatians 3:13 — “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’)” (New King James Version)

Why did Jesus Christ die on a cross? When I ask folks that, the quick and accurate response is Jesus died on the cross to take away my sins. But let me ask the question a different way: Why did Jesus Christ die on the cross specifically? Why the cross? In the days when Jesus walked the earth, the worst possible criminals were punished by the worst possible punishment: crucifixion on a cross. Jesus died the most shameful, horrendous death of His day because, Galatians 3:13 tells us, He was becoming “a curse for us,” He was “redeeming us from the curse of the law.” God wants to bless us, not curse us. Jesus Christ died on the cross to bless us. He is our Redeemer!

2 Corinthians 5:21 — “For He (God) made Him who knew no sin (Jesus Christ) to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (NKJV)

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, never sinned a day of His life, so why was He dying a death reserved for the most loathsome people on the planet? Simply this: Jesus Christ was “becoming sin for us” — our sin equals every sin of every person ever created. Why? Because He wanted to redeem us from the curse of the law; He wanted to be our Redeemer. But more than that, He wanted to be our Savior. When a fireman rescues someone from a burning building, they are helping that person to get from a dangerous, unhealthy place to a place of security and blessing. The same is true of a lifeguard who rescues a person who is drowning. They want to get that person out of what is killing them to a place where they can live securely. That’s what a savior does. And that’s exactly what Jesus Christ was doing on the cross.

He was taking us from the dangerous, unhealthy place of being cursed and in bondage to sin, that place where we are continually dying spiritually, and He was moving us to a place of security and blessing, a place where we can live securely. 2 Corinthians 5:21 describes this state of being as “becoming the righteousness of God in Jesus.” Ultimately, that place is heaven, but there is a blessed and secure life that can be lived through Jesus Christ in the here and now. Jesus died on the cross to make that kind of life possible for us. That is what a savior does. He is our Savior!

So, as we contemplate what Jesus Christ was doing on “the Old Rugged Cross” on that Good Friday, let us be thankful that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and our Savior! Let us respond to His supreme sacrifice by admitting we ourselves are sinners. Let us respond to our Redeemer by believing that His dying of the cross pays the price for sin and makes a right relationship with God a reality. Let us respond to our Savior by confessing our sins and embracing the new life — new birth — that He has made possible through His specific death on the cross. Amen!