"When I die, I'll cast a shadow." That's from one of my favorite Pantera songs. We don't always think about it, but everything we do casts a shadow (i.e. has an effect on something else). What we eat affects our weight and our health. How we raise our kids affects the way they treat others. Certain individuals cast a greater shadow on history than others, some for better and some for worse. Gutenberg's invention of the printing press made knowledge accessible to everyone, not just the privileged few. Adolf Hitler casts a shadow on history so evil that Hans Frank (one of the Nazis executed for war crimes) said "a thousand years will pass and the guilt of Germany will not be erased".
Jesus had this response for those who refused to believe in him: "when you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be" (John 8:28). He was telling them that his death on the cross would clearly prove he was the son of God. In effect, he was saying "when I die, I'll cast a shadow" greater than anyone before or since. Notice that the cross is essential to the shadow he would cast. If Jesus had walked away from the cross at the last minute, there would be no church, no New Testament, and Jesus would likely be a forgotten figure in history. The cross is the pivotal moment not only in his ministry, but in the history of the world, and without it there is no forgiveness of sins, no hope of salvation, "only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire" (Hebrews 10:27).
