(The following article first appeared in Vol. 1, No. 3 of The Christian magazine in January, 1926.)
Every time we consider the cross, it invokes wonder in us! Every time we remember the redemption of the Lord Jesus, our hearts are filled both with sorrow and with joy. To us the Lord's cross is not just a wooden cross, but a symbol of His full redemptive work and of the full salvation accomplished through this redemptive work.
When I first received the Lord, I often wondered how the men in the Old Testament, who came before the time of the Lord's crucifixion, could be saved. At that time I was a babe in the Lord and was quite perplexed by this question.
In recent years, I have not seen much of the fresh power of the cross manifested in the believers. It seems to them that the Lord's death is something that happened long ago, over nineteen centuries earlier. As such, it does not seem to have any power.
I thank the Father that He has recently shown me the timelessness of the cross. Because of the above-mentioned two concepts, I consider it necessary that God's saints be acquainted with the teaching of the "timelessness" of the cross. If we realize that the cross is still extremely fresh, how much we will be touched by it!
We may first read Hebrews 9:15-17: "And because of this He is Mediator of a new covenant, so that, death having taken place for redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, those who have been called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where there is a testament [the same word as covenant in the original] there must of necessity be the death of him who made it. For a testament [covenant] is confirmed where there has been death, since it has no force when he who made it is living." These few verses show us the relationship between the death of Christ on the cross and the old and new covenants. Under the old covenant, men sinned the same way as they now do. Since there was sin, there was the need for the Savior. If a man has sinned and has not received God's forgiveness, he will have to bear his own judgment of sin. God cannot forgive man's sin simply by His mercy. To do so would put Him in unrighteousness. For this reason, in God's way of redemption He established the way of substitution. Under the old covenant, He used many sacrifices and offerings to make atonement for man's sins. Since many animals died on man's behalf, man received God's righteous forgiveness. The word "atonement" in Hebrew means to "cover up." Under the old covenant, the atonement was but a covering up of man's sins with animals' blood, because the Bible clearly says, "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Heb. 10:4). For this reason, at the fullness of time God sent His Son into the world to die for men. Through His one offering up of Himself, the eternal salvation of redemption was accomplished. The sins which were not removed by the blood of bulls and goats in the Old Testament are now removed through His death, for He is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). The death of Christ marked a great change in history. His death divided the old testament age from the new testament age. Before His death, it was the old testament age; after His death, it is the new testament age. The above-mentioned Scripture readings cover this point.
These three verses speak of two kinds of relationships the Lord's death has with the old and the new covenants. Hebrews 9:15 shows how He is the Mediator. Verses 16 and 17 show how He became the One who made the testament.
We have seen that everyone in the first covenant was a sinner. Although they offered to God animals as atonement for their sins, their sins were only covered; these sins were not removed. At that time God did forgive their sins because through the blood of many sacrifices God saw from a distance the blood of His Son and its effectiveness. However, unless the Lord Jesus were to die, God still could not put an end to the problem of sin in the first covenant. Sin must be removed. When Christ died, the sin under the first covenant was removed. We can see the relationship between the Lord's death and the first covenant from another angle. Every covenant has its conditions. The old covenant also had its demands. When man came short of these requirements, he sinned. The punishment of sin is death. This is why the Lord Jesus had to die on behalf of those in the first covenant and redeem them from their sins. He fulfilled all the requirements of the first covenant, terminated it, and initiated the new covenant.
Through His death He redeemed man from the sins he committed in the first covenant and became the Mediator of the new covenant. His being the Mediator of the new covenant is based on His redemption of the sins of those in the first covenant. Originally, man was to receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. However, because of his sin, man was kept from inheriting it. Now the Lord Jesus has died. Man is redeemed from sin, and the called ones are qualified to receive the eternal inheritance. Hence, the Lord Jesus became the Mediator through the death on the cross. On the one hand, He brought an end to the sins of the old covenant. On the other hand, He brought in the blessing of the new covenant. All these matters are related to His being the Mediator.
Next we should consider Him as the One who made the testament. The word "testament" is "covenant" in the original language. In the above discussion, we had the law of the covenant. All those who transgressed the law died. Christ died in order to redeem us from sin. After this we may consider the testament of the covenant. A testament means an arrangement made by a testator for the passing of his possessions to his heir at the testator's death. The Lord Jesus is the Testator, the One who made the testament. All the blessings of this age and the next belong to Him. Since He was willing to bear the sins of those in the first covenant, He is also willing to pass on all that is promised in this covenant (testament). In order to redeem man from his sins, He had to die. In order for man to inherit the testament, He also had to die. If a man is alive, the testament he makes will not come into effect. He must die before the heir can inherit the inheritance. Here we see the profound relationship between Christ's death and the old and new covenants. In short, without His death there would not be the old and the new covenants. Without His death, the old testament could not be complete, for the requirement of its law would not have been met. Without His death there could not be the new testament, because there would be no way for the blessing of its testament to be passed on to the called ones. But the Lord has died. He has terminated the first covenant and has enacted the second covenant. Indeed, the new testament was enacted by His blood.