When most think or talk about Jesus, the cross is always central. It is the horrifying gruesome reality that Jesus is known for, but that was only ONE example of His extreme obedience.
The cross became the satisfactory payment for humanity’s sin debt owed to God, but his whole life was the cross. Jesus’ life, through every season, is one big seamless and unbroken act of self denial. He lived the cross and the capstone of his obedience to God was Calvary.
Think about the last time you withheld something from your body that it was demanding of you–like that ever happens that much. Try and think of a time when you needed something so badly, but you could not have it. Even five minutes can seem like torture. Jesus went through every season of life without wavering in obedience to the Father’s will.
The cross is central to salvation, but more than just the cross was necessary to make salvation accessible to humanity. It was Jesus’ sinless perfection, followed by the cross, completed by the resurrection that brought salvation. We are saved through his death and by his life. Without Jesus living 33 years of “the cross”, we could not be saved.
“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10
Tim Holman, Writer 