The cross is the obedient, self-giving death of the incarnate Son for sinners, by which He bears sin’s judgment and opens the way into resurrection life with God.
The crucifixion was a real Roman execution, yet not a defeat that overtook Jesus against His will. He gave Himself in obedience to the Father and love for sinners; no one took His life from Him, but He laid it down of Himself. On the cross the innocent Son bore the judgment due to sin and broke the claim of the powers that held humanity in bondage.
The many words the New Testament uses for His death — sacrifice, substitution, propitiation, redemption, reconciliation — are facets of this one saving act, and they must be held together rather than set against one another. The cross is not the end of the story but the way through death into resurrection life.
See in Scripture: Isaiah 53:1–12; Mark 10:45; John 10:11–18; Romans 5:6–11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; Galatians 3:13