The importance of the cross (2)
09 APRIL 2020
‘At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.’
Matthew 27:51 NIV
Another reason that the cross is important is that it reconnected us to God. Before Jesus’ death on the cross, the only people who could be in God’s presence were the priests who were allowed into the innermost parts of the Temple. The Bible says: ‘Only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance’ (Hebrews 9:7 NIV). But at the moment that Jesus died, ‘the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.’ The barrier between us and God was removed. That means we can now experience His presence and draw close to Him without fear. ‘Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need’ (Hebrews 4:16 NIV). It also means we can approach Him with all our worship and requests without having to purify ourselves first. While we can never be perfect, God sees us through Jesus, who is righteous. We’re now seen as righteous before God because Jesus took all our sin and shame away from us when He died on the cross. We’re told: ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV). Jesus’ death on the cross was all part of God’s redemption plan. After sin and suffering entered the world (take a look at Genesis 3), God needed a way to bring us back to Him again. Out of His amazing love for us, He sacrificed His only Son so that we could be reconnected to Him, and live with Him forever. What Now? Approach God today and tell Him everything that is going on in your life. Thank Him that you can be connected to Him.