Victory in Defeat

The cross is central to Christianity. It is the glorious victory that declares Christ's identity as Saviour. While this declaration presents Jesus as a failure, it turns out to be the exact opposite. This is how the criminal dying beside Jesus saw it--Jesus is dying, but the criminal asks Jesus to remember him. In addition to this, creation declares the unique nature of Jesus' death, as the earth is darkened. The Old Testament often connects the moral order to the natural order. The day of the Lord will also be marked by darkness. God also speaks by tearing the temple curtain open. An end of a phase has come and a new one has started. Another remarkable fact is that Jesus is able to call out with a loud voice after hours on the cross. Jesus died with confidence in his Father. In the face of all of these evidences, a soldier praises god for what he had witnessed. The irrefutable final aspect of Jesus' unique death has his resurrection. Until you understand the cross as central to Christianity, you have not understood Christianity.