“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45
Jesus gave His life as “a ransom.” You need to know that there are a growing number of teachers in the church today who deny precious truths like this. These folks think it is “unworthy” to speak about God’s wrath or judgement. If you don’t believe there is wrath or judgement for sin, then there’s no reason to think that Jesus endured these things for us on the cross.
But the substitutionary atonement—that is, Christ bearing our sin, taking our place under the judgement of God, and offering Himself as a sacrifice, is clearly taught in the Bible. It is at the centre of His glorious achievement for us on the cross. Is there any evidence for this in Mark 15? Yes, but it may not be obvious at first.
When you read Agatha Christie novels or watch CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, there are always clues in the account of what happened that help explain what was really going on. It’s easy to completely miss these clues: “Why did the light go out when Ms. Butters came into the room?” Sometimes we miss the significance of events, but once you know the explanation and you watch the story again, you pick up on clues you completely missed before.
That’s how it is with the cross. You can read this story without seeing anything more than the suffering of an innocent man. But when you know the Bible’s explanation, you begin to see things you would have completely missed before.
Respond to this statement: “You can read the story of the cross without seeing anything more than the suffering of an innocent man.”
