The Importance of the Cross

[HKHaugan]

In John 10 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep (vs.7)…I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved (vs.9)…” “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (vs.11)…I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me---just as the Father knows me and I know the Father---and I lay down my life for the sheep (vs.14-15).”

This is a fantastic passage. It reveals just how much Jesus has accomplished on our behalf by going to the Cross to show that His grace, love and truth are the qualities that carry us into the presence of God. Take a look at the verses in the context of the Trinity.

First, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth…(vs.7)” Here is the challenge to the mind. Truth is for the mind. Any statement that calls for belief is a truth claim, a mind stimulator, a point to ponder. The claim Jesus is making here is that He is the source of truth. We know from 14:6 is the same claim. Then in 17:17 He says to the Father, “Your word is truth.” Here His claim is that He is the living Word that makes the written Word the truth. So in vs.7 when He says He is the gate for the sheep it is His mind that is the gate for thinking, processing and reasoning. He is declaring that thinking, believing and reasoning the way His mind does is the way for our mind to work. If we think about our minds it so apparent that our minds never stop working. They are always processing something. Whose mind do we trust for the perfection of thought we know we don’t have?

Second, not only does Jesus claim to be the gate for the mind but then His claim clearly targets the heart. Jesus said, “Whoever enters through me will be saved (vs.9).” That calls for something only the heart can do and that is trust. Salvation is an ongoing relational experience, a heart experience, a personal experience, a trust experience. Think of all the people we trust or don’t trust and ask yourself why. It’s all about their heart isn’t it? Most of us don’t even trust ourselves. In all honesty is there anyone in this world you can trust ultimately not only with your life in this world but also after death? When our body stops working our hearts don’t. It is trusting Jesus in the heart on an ongoing level. It’s growing in trust because you can’t see Him. But that is the point. Whenever you deal with anything that is invisible whether it is choosing, deciding, evaluating, looking ahead, all of that is invisible and trust is how you process in the invisible. Trust is risking based on what you believe to be right and wrong. Jesus is claiming He is the only one in whom you can ultimately trust to know the difference. He’s been there, done that and risen from the dead.

Third, it is our spirit that is brought to life. Our spirits were made to motivate action. Faith is the spiritual power to act. What Jesus did in the Spirit was to die on the Cross. Jesus makes this bold claim, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (vs.11).” This is not only a claim, it is a lifestyle of yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit so that our spirit acts in faith instead of sin. Here’s where we really step out. That one act of sacrifice on the Cross set the pattern for every next moment of our lives. We die to what we think is best and accept His mind above ours for every next moment of thought. We die to the all the self-protecting, self-motivated attitudes about life we have developed for our hearts and trust His attitudes of living and doing only what pleases His Father. Then, having been born from above by the Spirit of God and filled with the Spirit, we follow Jesus into the world of people and act out in ministry and mission being a witness to Jesus in every next moment. And those very next moments are brand new and demand the Holy Spirit in us to discern through the Word what is happening and then faithfully follow His leading for us. This is why Paul puts it so forcefully and bluntly, “That which does not proceed from faith is sin (Rom.14:23).” It is stepping out in the name of Jesus in every next moment when each of those moments are unknown, unexpected, unplanned and demand total belief, trust and faith through the power of the Spirit. Faith is all about believing, trusting and keeping in step with the Holy Spirit. This is what the Cross signifies, laying down our minds, hearts and spirits and consciously replacing them with the perfection of Jesus’ presence wherever we go, whoever we meet, whatever the demand and whenever called.

So Jesus is the Savior, the Redeemer and the Lord of our mind, heart and spirit. This is what makes the Cross the ‘taking-up’ daily lifestyle. “When I survey the wondrous Cross, on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride (Isaac Watts, 17th century).” What the Cross promises is that regardless of what happens in every next moment, if that moment is lived in belief, trust and faith, there is a resurrection for that moment either in what happens in it or in the future that was influenced by that moment. Like Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Php.1:21).”
“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me---just as the Father knows me and I know the Father---and I lay down my life for the sheep (vs.14-15).” When Jesus says ‘know’ He is saying more than just being acquainted with. He is saying He knows the depth of each one of us; the functioning of every cell, every thought, every emotion, every movement of the brain, every beat of the heart, the complete exterior and interior of every person. And He is not just a shepherd, He is “The Good Shepherd” who knows us by name in mind, heart and spirit. And we know Him, we follow Him and we take His lead.
So today, as in every day, we take up our cross and crucify our worldly shaped mind and let the Holy Spirit reshape it to be Jesus’ mind by His Word, His heart to be our heart and our spirit to function through His Spirit. When His Cross becomes our cross then His Resurrection becomes ours---in every next moment.