When God Surveys the Cross

Selected Scripture

What do you see when you survey the cross?

When I survey the cross, I see

forgiveness of my sins,
the promise of eternal life with Christ,
adoption into the family of God,
meaning for me in living,
peace in this present life,
hope in dieing,
and the list of blessings goes on and on.

And while all of there are good and true, I submit to you this morning that if these are all we see, then at best we are seeing only ½ of the picture. We are seeing the ½ from man’s perspective, the ½ that highlights man’s blessings and benefits. There is another ½, the ½ from God’s perspective, the ½ that focuses on God. This morning we want to survey the cross from God’s perspective. We want to try and answer the question, besides the benefits, or blessings, for man, what does God see when He surveys the cross?

We will do so by examining selected Scripture which will highlight three of God’s perspectives that are evident – when God surveys the cross. The first one is found starting in

Isa. 53. Let’s turn there and begin.

Read: Isa. 53:4-6 cf. John 19:17-18a

What we just read is prophesy from before the time when Jesus came to the earth and its fulfillment after Jesus came to the earth. This is just one of many. God said that Jesus would die on the cross for man’s sin, and He did. The cross is just one of God’s many fulfilled prophesies. When God’s prophesies are fulfilled, His claim to who He is – the one and only true God – is given credibility. In other words, when God surveys the cross, He sees His truth being verified. When God looks at the cross, He sees fulfilled prophesy which again shows that God is truth. If God does not fulfill His prophesies, He is a limited god at best and a complete liar at worst. Only a fool will follow a god who does not, because he can not, keep his word. Our God can and does keep His Word, because His Word is truth. So when He says there is none besides Me, that means that He is the One, the Only, the True God. Just as importantly it means that Jesus is the only one qualified to be the all-sufficient Savior. God tells us in His word that besides Jesus, there is salvation in no one else. There is no other name under heaven that has been given among man, by which, man can be saved. If that is not specific enough, God’s word tells us that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one can go to Him except through Jesus. This truth is verified by the cross. No one else in history has died as Jesus did in order to provide a way of salvation for all of mankind. When God surveys the cross, He sees His truth being verified – specifically the truth of Jesus is mankind’s only Savior. The first of God’s perspectives on the cross is: When God surveys the cross, He sees His truth being verified.

Now let’s take a look at the second one. It is found beginning in Lev. 16.

Read: Lev. 16:8, 15-22; 1 John 2:2

In the passage in Lev., the word ‘mercy’ used in terms of the ‘mercy seat’ is literally the word propitiatory. In the 1 John passage, the words ‘atoning sacrifice’ are literally the one word ‘propitiation’. This word has the idea of satisfaction or pleasing. You say – what is being pleased or satisfied? Simply put it is God’s wrath. God’s wrath against sin arises by necessity out of His nature. Because of the justness and righteousness of His character, God must judge sin. His wrath must be satisfied. As we saw in Lev., at a point in time, God judged sin at the Mercy Seat, but that ended at the cross. God poured out His wrath on Jesus in order to judge man’s sin. In other words, when God surveys the cross, He sees His wrath being satisfied. And when God’s wrath is satisfied, man can live in right relationship with God. Our sin separates us from God, and as those who are separated from God, we need forgiveness in order to restore the relationship. If we die unforgiven, we will be separated from God eternally. The Bible refers to this as Hell. Through believing in Jesus and Jesus alone as the one who died on the cross in our place, we can be forgiven. If we die forgiven, we will be with God forever. The Bible refers to this as Heaven. It is possible for man to enter heaven because Jesus died in our place. God’s wrath was satisfied on the cross. If you believe you are promised eternal life with Christ. If you do not believe, you are promised eternal wrath away from Christ. John 3:36

It is important to note here that God’s wrath is not like man’s wrath. Our wrath is seldom, if ever done in love. Yet God’s wrath upon Jesus was carried out in love. 1 John 4:10 When God surveys the cross, He sees His wrath being satisfied. He sees a way for mankind to be forgiven and live eternally with Him. The second of God’s perspectives on the cross is: When God surveys the cross, He sees His wrath being satisfied.

He sees His truth being verified, His wrath being satisfied, and –

Now let’s look at the third and final one. For this one, I would like you to listen to a series of verses and see if you can find a common theme.

Moses – Ex. 34:29-30

29 It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone.

The Tabernacle – Ex. 40:34-35

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

The Temple – 1 Kings 8:10-11

10 It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Jesus –

John 1:14 – 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace & truth.
John 17:1 – Jesus spoke these things and lifting up His eyes to Heaven He said, “Father the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.”

The Church –

Eph. 1:5-6 – He predestined us to adoption as sons of Jesus Christ through Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise and glory of His grace.
2 Cor. 3:18 – Let’s turn there together.

Were you able to follow and see the glory of God move through history? Then what happened when it came to the Church? It became ever increasing. The Church came as a result of the Cross. It was made possible by Christ’s death on the cross. So, when God surveys the cross, He sees His glory being magnified. The greatest thing about becoming a Believer is the fact that you become the reflection of the glory of God. Being forgiven, receiving eternal life, becoming a child of God, are all a part of it and are all wonderful truths. But, even greater is being the reflection of the glory of God. It is the primary reason God saved us – to reflect and send forth His glory. The glory of God has come down through history and now rests on His Son’s church, which again, came about as a result of the cross. The ever-increasing glory of God is being reflected in us as a result of Jesus dieing on the cross. When God surveys the cross, He sees His glory being magnified; He sees His wrath being satisfied; and He sees His truth being verified.

So what does this mean for us in regards to living it out in our lives?

In regards to God’s glory being magnified, we must all look for meaning and purpose outside of ourselves. Throughout all of history we see examples of man focusing on himself. It began in the Garden of Eden and is present here today. The problem with trying to gain meaning and purpose outside of Christ is the fact that except Christ, everything can change and/or disappear.

This is best illustrated by a person in the witness protection program.

Except for the fact of being a reflection of the glory of God, everything changed. When God surveys the cross, He sees His glory being magnified. We must therefore find meaning and purpose from being a reflection of His glory.

In regards to God’s wrath being satisfied, if you are here this morning and have not trusted in Christ and Christ alone as Savior, then one day you are going to be the recipient of God’s wrath; a wrath that sends you to eternal pain and suffering. This is not a judgmental statement; it is a statement of truth; given not by me, but by God. I tell you this because God says it in His Word. I am simply telling you what God has already said. And if I did not, I would not be doing my job. If I do not tell you, I would be like a doctor who knows you are at the beginning stages of lung cancer from smoking and does not tell you to quit smoking. If you are here this morning and have not placed your faith in Christ as Savior, God wants you to know that He loves you and that His greatest act of wrath was also His greatest act of love in order to draw you to Him. If you want to become a reflection of the glory of God by receiving forgiveness of sin, leading to eternal life with Christ and becoming a child of God, I urge you – trust Christ as your Savior today!!! Any of us on the Church staff are available to help you with this.

Finally in regards to God’s truth being verified, let’s go back that person with lung cancer. Suppose you found a cure for cancer and you knew that it was the one and only cure. Now let’s suppose that you saw someone trying to administer a wrong, insufficient cure to someone. What would you do? You would speak-up and tell them the truth of the matter that the cure that is being used will not help and that you know the one cure that will. You would then share the right cure. As Believers in Christ, we know the only sure cure for something far worse than cancer. Therefore, we need to speak-up. We should all be actively sharing our faith with others. Why, because we know THE truth. We know the only sure way for someone to be saved from eternal death to eternal life with Christ. And so I ask you, are you actively looking for and taking advantage of opportunities to share your faith?

I don’t know if I have communicated exactly what is I believe is the heart of God.

My prayer is that we all have learned that:

We must move away from “me centered Christianity”. We must think of the cross in terms of God and His glory; not just how it benefits us.

“Jesus’ death was primarily directed toward God who is the offended party, not man who is the offender.”

1. When God surveys the cross, He sees His glory being magnified.

2. When God surveys the cross, He sees His wrath being satisfied.

3. When God surveys the cross, He sees His truth being verified.

That is the cross in terms of God – His truth, His wrath and His glory!!!

Let us dwell upon these things!!!