On this special day, the thoughts of many are centred around the cross of Calvary, upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. This is both good and certainly understandable, as the cross casts the most significant shadow in all of human history. It is hard to overstate the significance and importance of the cross for every human being and for the whole of creation.
There is no way to fully explore the numerous aspects of the impact of the cross, nor the vastness of what all aspects mean for us. But let’s consider one part of what the cross is about as we approach Good Friday and Easter weekend.
At the cross of Calvary, the perfect righteousness, justice, and love of God came together, resulting in the only conceivable manner in which our redemption could be accomplished.
God is a God of complete righteousness, and as such, He is perfect in His justice. He does not ignore sin, does not minimize sin, does not play games with sin, but He judges sin and demands the penalty of death for sin. This is what justice (getting what is deserved) requires. If God did not respond to sin in this way, He would not be righteous. His righteousness requires His justice, for without justice, one cannot be fully righteous.
But God is also perfect in His love. He is no less a God of love than a God of righteousness and justice. The fact that all three of these aspects of God are present and equal in the character and nature of God makes the cross both necessary and possible.
The amazing thing about the cross is that it is the place in which perfect justice and perfect love come together. God, in His justice and righteousness, does not ignore sin. There was a horrible price paid for the sin of the world. The only One capable of paying the judgment sin required was God because He was the only One fully righteous, without the debt of sin. In His love, God paid the price. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them…”
His love did what His justice required. The cross is a definitive picture of both. In it, we see the unswerving justice and righteousness of God and the unending, unrelenting love of God. As these two are joined at the cross, we see one of the most complete pictures of the nature of God available to us.
Only God is righteous enough to pay the debt that His justice required for our sins. And only His unfathomable love explains why He would do such a thing. As the old hymn says, “Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.”
As you consider the cross this Good Friday, consider the God “who knew no sin,” yet “became sin on our behalf, in order that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The cross is where we see the righteousness, justice, and love of God working together for our great good.
Good Friday, indeed.