The Cross exposes us for what we are. The punishment our evil warrants answers the question, ‘How evil are we?’ The Cross is a mirror showing us the heart-stopping magnitude of our depravity and offers a terrible glimpse of Hell’s misery.
The Cross is also a lens showing us God’s uncompromising holiness and wrath that demand such a price for sin. It’s also a magnifying glass showing us the sweeping vastness of God’s grace and love, that he would be willing to pay a price he knew would be so horrific.
Everything before the Cross points forward to it. Everything since the Cross points back to it. Everything that will last was purchased on it. Everything that matters hinges on it.

— Randy Alcorn