Why the Cross?

If someone were to ask what meaning Good Friday has for you, how would you answer? Well, you might rightly say, “The day Jesus died on the Cross for my sins.” But why the Cross? Could God not say from heaven: “Your sins are for given; come now and enter heaven and eternal life”? The problem with that is it fails to understand the nature of our intellect and free will, and the nature of sin; the power it holds over our souls. People in the bondage of sin are so by choice, and can no longer hear God’s voice from heaven. "Son of Man, you live in a rebellious house that has eyes to see, but they can't see, and ears to hear, but they can't hear, since they're a rebellious house. Jerimiah 12:2.  . . . so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'" Mk 4:12 Let me offer an analogy. A person goes partying one night … becomes intoxicated … gets into a car and drives away at high speed … fails to negotiate a turn in the road … roles the car and ends up in the ditch, injured and hopelessly pinned in the over-turned car. Then the car becomes engulfed in flames. That person cannot save themselves, they are going to die a horrible death – and it is totally their fault. Now a stranger comes on the scene, climbs into the burning vehicle and calls to the trapped man, "here, take my hand, I can save you!" The rescuer frees the trapped person and pushes him out of the car to safety; but this can only be done in a way that makes the rescuer unable to get out himself … therefore, he must die in place of the trapped person. It’s the only way to save the one hopelessly trapped do to the choices they made. Sin entraps our souls and binds us to its deadly way, traps us in the state of eternal separation from God, from God’s truth, from eternal life. (Trapped like the person in the flaming car.) God must come to where the sinner is; first to break Satan’s hold over us by incarnating, making himself visible and recognizable on our terms. Then, one-on-one, offering us mercy, convincing us to reject sin and to accept forgiveness. Then God must lead us out of our hell of ignorance into the light of truth. Jesus, the Son of God is the only one who can do this. He must become one of us, to be with us where we are. That is the only way we can hear God’s voice. Satan tries to drive Jesus away from rescuing us by the threat of the Cross. He fails. Jesus’ love for us is greater than any fear Satan can employ, even death itself. Satan’s hold is broken, it remains for us to listen to the Voice of forgiveness and follow him out. We say Jesus died for my sins on Good Friday. Perhaps we more accurately should say, Jesus died BECAUSE of my sins. Because by my free choice I willing followed Satan into the hell of separation from God’s truth, it is only by Jesus entering into my death situation, to meet me there and convincing me of his love, can Jesus save me. Only from the Cross can we hear; “This day you will be with me in Paradise."