[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f the heavenly Father is good and loving, why would He allow His Son to be crucified? From our perspective, there is nothing loving in this scene.
To grasp what happened at the cross, we must first understand that the Lord is righteous and just. He does what is right and never contradicts His Word. On the other hand, mankind is sinful and deserving of punishment. God couldn’t simply forgive us, because He would then cease to be just—and justice requires a penalty for sin. Either the Lord had to condemn us all to suffer His wrath, or He needed a plan that would satisfy His justice and allow His mercy.
Before the foundation of the world, the Lord had such a plan in place (Revelation 13:8). Jesus came to earth to be our sin bearer, and the Father placed our guilt and punishment on Him. Because the Savior’s payment satisfied justice, sinful man could be declared righteous.
When we trust in Christ and acknowledge that His payment was made on our behalf, we are forgiven of our sins and blessed with salvation. God’s perfect Son was the only One who qualified to be our substitute, and Jesus did it all willingly. Through an act that appeared cruel and hateful, God’s goodness and love was revealed to the world.
