The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
The Mystery of the Cross
In the New Testament Paul mentions the mystery of the gospel several times in a variety of settings. The one that caught my attention this week is the mystery of the gospel as preached by Paul and the other disciples.
In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Paul defines the gospel: “… I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, …that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
He calls it a mystery in Romans 16:25-26a: “Now to Him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began but now is made manifest…” He further clarifies the mystery in 1 Timothy 3:16: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
The mystery of the gospel is the mystery of the cross – that the perfect and sinless Christ died on the cross to save our souls. As westerners with no real modern analogy to the ancient observances, it isn’t something we understand unless we look to the Old Testament. Throughout Israel’s history God required sacrifices of animals to remediate for sin. The procedural instructions for these sacrifices are clearly laid out in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Ezekiel 43-46 reiterates the instructions in short form. Ezekiel 45:18-19 specifies the cleansing nature of the sacrifices: “Thus saith the Lord GOD, ‘In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. So thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for everyone that errs…’”
The Old Testament sacrifices had to be repeated by every Israelite on a regular basis in order to remain cleansed of sin and reconciled to God. The justice of God required blood sacrifices for the remission of sins. But Christ’s sacrifice by His death on the cross was a one-time sacrifice, the sacrifice to end all other sacrifices. The shedding of His own blood not only opened the door to forgiven sin, but also to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As Colossians 2:12-14 and 21-22 states, “Giving thanks unto the Father who has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins…And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has He reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, unblameable, and unreproveable in His sight.”
That is the gospel of grace, a mystery indeed when you consider the magnitude of Jesus’ ultimate act of love in dying on the cross.
