As Isaac Watts surveyed the wondrous cross, he was overwhelmed by what it meant for the eternal Son of God to become a man and die the death of a criminal. The Prince of glory died that sinners might live! So, wrote Watts,
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Clearly, Watts came to see the atonement as more important than all the world. Now, why would an intelligent and articulate man like Watts come to view Christ’s death on the cross in that way?
First, the cross means that the death penalty for sinners has been paid in full. When Adam sinned, he died in body and soul, and became subject to the second death, which is God’s everlasting judgment (Gen.2:16-17). Sin thus puts us into God’s debt. That is why Jesus taught us to say in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors’ (Matt.6:12). There is a ransom to be paid, and thankfully the Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He came to pay the penalty that we could only pay by suffering God’s judgment forever. As Anne Steele put it:
He took the dying traitor’s place,
And suffered in his stead;
For man – O miracle of grace! –
For man the Saviour bled!
Without the cross, our debt would not be paid, or rather, we would be left to pay it ourselves.
Secondly, the cross means that believers have peace with God (Col.1:20). This leads to peace between believing Jews and Gentiles (Eph.2:14-16) and peace within for Christ has overcome the world of tribulation (John 14:27; 16:33). But the fundamental meaning is that the warfare between a holy God and unholy sinners is over for all who take refuge in the cross of the Lord Jesus. Being justified by faith in the crucified Lord, we have peace with God (Rom.5:1). By nature we are alienated from God and do not want to know Him, but the cross has brought about reconciliation (Col.1:21-22). Apart from the atonement, unbelievers may be complacent or asleep, but not at peace. Defenceless, they will face God who cannot look upon sin with favour (Hab.1:13).
Thirdly, the cross – paradoxically – gives us life and victory. Death on a cross brought disgust to those in the ancient world; it was meant to be the lowest form of punishment and degradation. How, then, did Paul come to glory in the cross? (Gal.6:14) It is, in fact, a summary of the gospel. In Adam there is sin and death; in Christ there is righteousness and life (Rom.5:12-21). Adam’s act of disobedience is counteracted and overcome by Christ’s obedience (Rom.5:18-19). Adam’s state of death came via his act of disobedience by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; Christ’s gift of life came via His act of obedience in dying the worst of deaths on the cross (Phil.2:8). This led to the Father’s vindication of the Son in His resurrection and ascension. Hence the cross is to be seen as the place where Christ triumphed over Satan and his evil empire for the sake of humble sinners (John 12:31; Col.2:13-15).
What does this mean for all who have repented and taken refuge in Christ? Tim Keller tells of a story some years back in the National Geographic about a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park. In the aftermath of the fire a forest ranger found a bird of which nothing was left but the carbonized, petrified shell, covered in ashes. Experiencing a certain level of distaste, the ranger knocked the bird over with a stick, and to his surprise he found three tiny chicks scurrying out from under their dead mother’s wings. She had borne the wrath of the fire that they might have life. One could think of no better illustration of the work of Christ on the cross.
The cross pays the penalty that we owe to God; it gives us peace with our holy God; and it brings us life and victory. We began with Isaac Watts’ meditation on the wondrous cross. Let us conclude with similar words expressed by another hymn-writer, Anne Steele:
What glad return can I impart
For favours so divine?
O take my all, this worthless heart,
And make it only Thine.