Christians have traditionally understood the Cross in many different ways: in a commercial manner—where Jesus’s death paid for our redemption, in a sacrificial way—as the the slaughter of the Lamb of God for our sins, in a martial way—as the defeat of the devil in the war against darkness, and in a legal way—as the pardon won for guilty sinners by the substitutionary atonement of Jesus. In the gospel of John, the lifting up of Jesus at Calvary (and subsequently in His resurrection and ascension) is an event that unveils heavenly truth. It tells us that Jesus loved us more than any other person who has ever lived. It tells us that Jesus lived out of a greater love, a love that lays down His life for His loved ones. It tells us that God is a Father who loves us so much that He would even give up His Son, so that we might experience His divine embrace. The Cross is God's passionate and echoing cry of “I love you” to us/the world. Jesus’s death is the ultimate revelation of divine love. Let us respond to His love by accepting Him into our lives, our plans, our relationships, our all.
John 8:28