Matt Nelson - March 30, 2025
Part 4: The Cross as Reconciliation
KALEIDOSCOPE OF THE CROSS The Cross as Reconciliation 3.30.25 The cross reconciles humanity to God (vertical), people to one another (horizontal), and all of creation to its Creator. Colossians 1:19-23 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. Ephesians 2:11-22 11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. The cross not only reconciles us to God, but creates a new humanity reconciled to one another. To cling to our divisions or our differences is to resist the very work Christ accomplished on the cross. The cross is not just a symbol of personal salvation; it is a pattern for social reconciliation. It dismantles the walls we build and invites us to a table we did not deserve to sit at—alongside people we never imagined calling family. - Paraphrased from Exclusion and Embrace by Miroslav Volf The cross doesn’t make light of our pain or pretend the past didn’t happen. It acknowledges the depth of our sin and the cost of justice—and then pays that price in full.
From Series: "Kaleidoscope of the Cross"
An exploration of the many layers of meaning, beauty, and power found in the crucifixion of Jesus. Like a kaleidoscope, each turn offers a new perspective, revealing the depth of God’s love, justice, mercy, and victory through the cross.