Christ on the Cross

When you 'see' Christ on the Cross, do you see Law or Gospel?
Dear crossnote that is a question I have not considered this way. When I see Christ on the cross I reflexively think John, 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Is this Gospel or fulfillment of the Law?
 
Dear crossnote that is a question I have not considered this way. When I see Christ on the cross I reflexively think John, 3:16

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Is this Gospel or fulfillment of the Law?
It appears to be Gospel. Yet the reason He gave His Life was our sins (breaking of God's law). And sure, Christ was passively fulfilling the law as a sacrificial lamb dying for our sins. See post #7 as an example of both law and Gospel.
 
Last edited:
And sure, Christ was passively fulfilling the law
I am on board, but the word “passively” seems not quite right.

John6:39
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

John 6:51
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Mark 10:45
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

John 12:24-27
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.”
 
I am on board, but the word “passively” seems not quite right.

John6:39
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

John 6:51
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Mark 10:45
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

John 12:24-27
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.”
Those are good points, I believe it refers to passages like 'He was taken', 'It was the Father's good pleasure', 'He was cut off from the land of the living',iow, that which was done to Him, all needed to fulfill the law.... even though it was in God's plan all along.
 
When you 'see' Christ on the Cross, do you see Law or Gospel?
Excellent question.

Personally I had not thought about it. But now that you brought it up, it seems to be that both are in view as a picture of a "Bridge" from Old Test. to the New Test.

The Law in the Old Test. is the do’s and don’t’s of moral behavior.

The Gospel, on the other hand, is the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. It is the message of what God has done for us, our deliverance from sin and the punishment of the Law and death because of the Law.(Me knowing how theological sound you are)

I suspect that you are already aware of this and it is probably why you posted the question........
(Me knowing how theologically sound you are) the “Law and Gospel” are intertwined as a part of our foundation, and a good understanding of their relationship will greatly help us as Christians!

If we understand that the Law of God is a standard of perfection, that it reveals sin, that we are unable to keep from breaking it, and that the Gospel frees us from the need to keep the law perfectly in order to obtain forgiveness of sins, we will then be better able to understand the message of salvation.

So I guess my thought would be .....The Law kills. The Gospel makes alive.
Romans 8:28........

" And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
 
The Law in the Old Test. is the do’s and don’t’s of moral behavior.

The Gospel, on the other hand, is the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. It is the message of what God has done for us, our deliverance from sin and the punishment of the Law and death because of the Law.(Me knowing how theological sound you are)
I know this is sort of going off on a tangent, but would you say there is both law and Gospel in the OT as well as the NT (of course not for justification before God) and perhaps, this is part of the reason we see both law and Gospel when we ‘survey’ the cross?
 
I know this is sort of going off on a tangent, but would you say there is both law and Gospel in the OT as well as the NT (of course not for justification before God) and perhaps, this is part of the reason we see both law and Gospel when we ‘survey’ the cross?
YES! O my YES!

Abel’s offering comes through a repentant and faithful heart, giving his best of his work from the land, while Cain’s heart is unrepentant and he fails to sacrifice his best fruits in the offering. This “firstborn” mention of the lamb is a type that refers to Jesus as the “firstborn of all creation” that reconciled all things to Himself through the shedding of His blood.

Christ upon the cross is foreshadowed all through the Old Testament. In Genesis 22 when Abraham offered his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice upon the altar atop Mount Moriah. The parallels are so striking as to strongly suggest the divine work through Abraham and Isaac was nothing less than a cross-symbol predating the crucifixion of Christ upon Mount Calvary.

Consider Mt. Moriah. It was where God told Abraham to STOP walking.
Melchizedek, King of Salem, blessed Abraham and was a priest of God Most High.
Location of Jerusalem.
“Jacob’s dream” is traditionally identified with Mount Moriah.
It is where Abraham sacrificed Issac.
A 1000 years later, it was where Boaz and Ruth consummated their marriage, the Threshing Floor!
It was where Obed, Davids grandfather was conceived and born.
It was where David bought and built an altar to the Lord so that a “plague may be held back from the people.
It was where King Solomon built a glorious temple on the same site.
It is where King Herod's Temple stood, the one Jesus cleansed.
It is the location of the crucifixion of Jesus.
Jesus was buried on Mount Moriah.
Jesus rose from the dead on Mt. Moriah.

I for one believe that Mt. Moriah will be the place Jesus comes to the next time He comes....Mt. of Olives which is on the slope of Mt. Moriah (Zech 14)

The Passover celebration was initiated with God’s rescuing the Israelites from the Egyptians by putting the blood of the sacrificial lamb over their doorposts. When Jesus comes to earth, He identifies Himself as the Passover lamb, the ultimate and final sacrifice for the people’s sin. This sacrifice then, represents the sin of the nation atoned for via first the lamb’s sacrifice, and now, via Jesus’ death once and for all.

Thanks for asking!
 
I for one believe that Mt. Moriah will be the place Jesus comes to the next time He comes....Mt. of Olives which is on the slope of Mt. Moriah (Zech 14)
Or perhaps Bethany, near where He ascended…

Luke 24:50-51
And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. [51] While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
 
Or perhaps Bethany, near where He ascended…

Luke 24:50-51
And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. [51] While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
The entire area of Jerusalem is on Mt. Moriah and Mt. Of Olives is actually Mt. Moriah. Bethany is about 2 miles east of Jerusalem but still considered Mt. Moriah. The edges of Bethany reached to the Mount of Olives and also bordered Bethphage, a suburb of Jerusalem.

IT was Forty days after His resurrection, and Jesus gathered His eleven disciples to give them final instructions before He left the earth (as you posted in Luke 24. He took them to the Mount of Olives, in “the vicinity of Bethany” (verse 50), where He blessed them and commissioned them.

The Lord was then lifted up into the clouds (Acts 1:9). As the disciples stood staring upwards, two angels appeared to them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” in Acts 1:11.
 
The entire area of Jerusalem is on Mt. Moriah and Mt. Of Olives is actually Mt. Moriah. Bethany is about 2 miles east of Jerusalem but still considered Mt. Moriah. The edges of Bethany reached to the Mount of Olives and also bordered Bethphage, a suburb of Jerusalem.
I tried looking that up but can’t find where Bethany is part of Mt. Moriah. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻
 
I tried looking that up but can’t find where Bethany is part of Mt. Moriah. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻
bethphage.jpg



Source:.....https://sareltours.com/article/mountains-surrounding-jerusalem

Seven mountain peaks surround the ancient City of Jerusalem (which was then much smaller than modern day Jerusalem which has greatly expanded in recent generations). These peaks are .....
(1) Mount Scopus,
(2) Mount of Olives.........(Bethany is on the eastern side about 2 miles from Jerusalem).
(3) Mount of Corruption (all three are peaks of a ridge stretching east of the City itself),
(4) Mount Ophel,
(5) the original Mount Zion/Moriah (today’s Temple Mt.),
(6) the New Mount Zion (where the traditional Upper Room is located), and
(7) the peak upon which the Roman Antonia Fortress was built just north of the Temple.

These seven peaks surround the biblical city of Jerusalem from all sides.
Bethany, a small village and biblical site on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem, situated in the West Bank.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Bethany-village-West-Bank
 
Last edited:
bethphage.jpg



Source:.....https://sareltours.com/article/mountains-surrounding-jerusalem

Seven mountain peaks surround the ancient City of Jerusalem (which was then much smaller than modern day Jerusalem which has greatly expanded in recent generations). These peaks are .....
(1) Mount Scopus,
(2) Mount of Olives.........(Bethany is on the eastern side about 2 miles from Jerusalem).
(3) Mount of Corruption (all three are peaks of a ridge stretching east of the City itself),
(4) Mount Ophel,
(5) the original Mount Zion/Moriah (today’s Temple Mt.),
(6) the New Mount Zion (where the traditional Upper Room is located), and
(7) the peak upon which the Roman Antonia Fortress was built just north of the Temple.

These seven peaks surround the biblical city of Jerusalem from all sides.
Bethany, a small village and biblical site on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem, situated in the West Bank.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Bethany-village-West-Bank
Which of those three? I can't stand Bing... maybe that's my problem?
Bing, Bing Bing, nevermind. I think I see it duhh.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top