The Cross Jesus Carried – His Dream, Our Call

 


 The Cross Jesus Carried – His Dream, Our Call

By: Dr. Joshua Thangaraj Gnanasekar(PT)

Founder Director of Academy of Christian Studies, Chennai. 




Introduction

• The Cross was not an accident. It was the centerpiece of God’s redemptive plan.

• From birth, Jesus was destined for the Cross – a path He willingly embraced for our sake.

Isaiah 53:10 – “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer…”


1. The Cross Foreseen – Jesus Lived with the Cross in View

• From the beginning, Jesus knew His mission involved the Cross.

• Even at the Mount of Transfiguration, He discussed His death.

Luke 9:30-31 – “Moses and Elijah… spoke about His departure, which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.”

Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

John 12:27 – “Now my soul is troubled… Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”


2. The Cross as a Daily Reality – Jesus Carried It Before He Carried It

• Long before Calvary, Jesus carried the weight of sin and sorrow.

• He lived a life of sacrifice, constantly misunderstood and opposed.

Isaiah 53:3 – “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.”

John 1:11 – “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.”

Hebrews 5:8 – “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”


3. The Cross Carried to Golgotha – Love Displayed Through Suffering

• Jesus physically carried the wooden cross, symbolizing the burden of humanity’s sin.

• Though innocent, He bore the shame of sinners.

Luke 23:26 – Simon of Cyrene helped carry the cross, but Jesus bore the true weight of our sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 – “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Isaiah 53:4-5 – “Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering… the punishment that brought us peace was on Him.”


4. The Victory of the Cross – Defeating Evil by Suffering

• Jesus didn’t just die on the cross—He triumphed over evil and death.

Colossians 2:14-15 – “Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness… He disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

Hebrews 2:14 – “…that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

Romans 6:10 – “The death He died, He died to sin once for all…”


5. The Resurrection – The Seal of Victory and the Dawn of New Creation

• The Cross would be incomplete without the Resurrection.

• Jesus rose to give us new life, hope, and the beginning of a New Creation.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – “Christ died for our sins… was buried, and… was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Romans 6:4 – “Just as Christ was raised from the dead… we too may live a new life.”

Revelation 21:5 – “Behold, I make all things new.”


6. The Call to Carry Our Cross – Imitating the Saviour

• Jesus not only carried His cross; He invites us to carry ours.

Luke 9:23 – “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.”

Philippians 3:10 – “I want to know Christ… and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.”

Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…”


Conclusion: The Paradox Ultimatum

• The Cross was both agony and glory. Death and life. Judgment and mercy.

• What the world called defeat, God used for eternal victory.

1 Corinthians 1:18 – “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”


• The Cross was Jesus’ dream — a dream of love.

• Let us now live lives that reflect this love, bearing our crosses with hope, courage, and obedience.


Reflection Questions for the Church:

1. Am I daily carrying the cross Jesus has asked me to bear?

2. In what ways can I reflect Christ’s sacrificial love in my family and community?

3. Have I truly understood the power and meaning of the Cross in my personal walk with God?

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