The Cross Through the Scriptures, by F.J. Huegel, Zondervan, 1966

This wonderful read is a mini survey of the Bible looking at the foreshadowing of the cross in certain Old Testament events, the realities of the cross of Christ, and the culmination of what the cross accomplished in heaven as foretold in Revelation. Many Scripture passages are illuminated as the cross is examined every which way and shown to be the crux of God’s plan for man from the beginning. It was fun to skip through the Bible so loftily, as though just brushing the tops of the waves of the ocean, and seeing the bright gems glistening in the ocean floor below. Anyone who has not recently pondered how Jesus suffered during the events leading up to and including the crucifixion or who has not realized the finality of the work of the cross would benefit greatly from reading this book.

Example: Page 119, “Declared Righteous By Virtue of the Cross”

Moses the great law-giver had declared that it was not possible for God to justify the ungodly, the wicked. Nothing more reasonable. Were He to do so He would cease to be just . . . Were He to declare free from guilt the sinner laden with shame in the defiance of God’s law, He would stoop to the level of the wicked, and Himself become sinful. No, the Lord cannot justify the sinner.

Ah, but He found a way, a way so wonderful, so glorious, as to constitute itself the central glory of the Godhead. Nothing more blessed, more worthy of praise will ever be known throughout all eternity. Yes, He found a way whereby He could acquit the sinner who times unnumbered has trampled underfoot His law and mocked His government and defied His Kingship . . . The Throne will forever be that of a Holy God whose righteousness will stand unsullied before unnumbered millions of angelic beings, and redeemed souls. The way is the way of the cross.

Man’s sin was dealt with. Man’s crimes were given their due. Man’s rebellion and his wickedness were judged. “Now is the judgment of this world,” said Jesus our Lord as He turned His face like flint toward the cross.

Pros: I loved this close examination of the cross of Christ as being written into the fabric of the universe. The chapters are very short, 3 or 4 pages, so the book can be treated as a daily devotional.

Cons: It seemed tiresome for Huegel to repeatedly tell the readers that a truth was making us breathless with awe and wonder. Yes, there were some big “AHA!” moments for me in the book, but not in every chapter! Also, I nearly flipped out when the introduction began with his saying that Paul was “the greatest of the apostles.” I know he is not alone in that assessment, but honestly, it is a book about the cross, and he does not entertain the notion that the greatest of the apostles might have been one that we never heard from again, because he was the chief servant in a little corner of the world? The most prolific in writing and the most forceful apostle was the greatest? Well, I simmered down and read the book, and I am glad that I did.

Rating: