03.03. The Cross

THE CROSS

Today men look upon the Cross as an ornament. It is used to decorate churches. Some use it as a charm; others pin it on their lapels. In the days of Jesus this was not so. The Cross was a symbol of shame.

Methods Of Execution The world has had many methods of execution: the stone, the stake, the poison hemlock, the firing squad, the axe, the gallows, the electric chair as well as crucifixion. Many of these, however, have so often been associated with honor that much of the stigma has been removed. Not so with the cross. Its victim, nailed to the rough tree and left hanging, naked, torn and bleeding before the throng, has always been looked upon as a specimen of disgraced and degraded humanity, more to be mocked than pitied. All the world looked upon the cross as a disgrace.

It seems that God must have purposely allowed this idea of crucifixion universally to root itself in the minds of men in order that a place more vile, more despicable and lower than any other might be provided where Christ could take the sinner’s place and become the great outcast from God.

He took my place, His life He freely gave;

He took my place, My soul from sin to save;

He took my place Upon the cruel tree;

He took the guilty sinner’s place,And I am free. In the days of Jesus, stoning was the Jewish method of putting criminals to death, whereas crucifixion was the Roman method. Therefore, for the Jews to clamor for the crucifixion of Christ was another way of saying, "Let Him die the most shameful death. Let Him die a death so despicable that it will not only show Him to be an outcast from the race but an outcast from the world." A Rumor Spreads For years men had looked upon the cross as a place of shame, a place of weakness, a place of darkness. After the crucifixion of Christ, a rumor began to spread that the cross was a place of honor instead of shame; strength instead of weakness; light instead of darkness. The Apostle Paul said, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." The world sneered at such a statement. The thought that a man should glory in a thing so disgraceful as the cross seemed to the world foolishness. The Cross A Power

Paul and his companions, though few, knew whereof they spoke. The moment Christ cried, "It is finished," the Cross became a power; a power that went forth quietly, yet irresistibly, smiting all religions, smiting all shrines, smiting all altars; a power that spared neither superstition nor philosophy; a power that flattered no priesthood and submitted to no statesmanship; a power that drew no sword in its own defense, yet refused to yield or retreat before the armies of men and of nations; a "power of God unto salvation." The Cross is no longer a place of shame, for Christ has lifted it.

What Is The Cross?

What is the Cross as we know it today? The Cross is the crisis of man. The Cross is the crisis of the world. The Cross is the crisis of Satan. The Cross is the crisis of the Christ. The Cross is the central theme of Christianity. The Cross is the central fact of Christian revelation. The Cross is the climax of all sin offerings and sacrifices. The Cross is the weapon that rent the veil in twain.The Cross is the highest peak in God’s mountain range of grace. The Cross is the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise to man. Because He has kept His greatest promise, we know we can depend upon all the others. The Cross is a bridge spanning a hitherto impassable gulf by which man can reach God, and dwell "in the secret place of the most high," and "abide under the shadow of the Almighty." The Cross is God’s pulpit from which He calls to the world, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The glory of the Cross was first proclaimed by a few persecuted, lonely Christians amid jeers and mockery. Soon it was seen by others and it began to spread. In spite of dungeon, fire and sword.

Today, after nineteen hundred years, the inspired words about the Cross have been translated into a thousand languages and dialects and are being spoken, preached and sung by people of every kindred and tongue, and millions gladly sing, In the Cross of Christ I glory, Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time. The Contradictions Of The Cross The Cross is amazing in its contradictions.

It illuminates, yet it darkens.

It interprets, yet it confounds.

It raises questions, but refuses to answer all that it has raised.

It solves difficulties, yet it also creates them.

It locks, yet it unlocks.

It closes some doors, yet it opens others.

It is wisdom, yet it is foolishness.

It is pardon and condemnation.

It is joy and sorrow.It is antidote and poison.

It is hope and despair.

It is law, yet it is the only deliverance from the law.

It was the humiliation of Christ, yet at the same time it was His exaltation.

It was Satan’s greatest victory, yet his most woeful defeat.

It is sin doing its worst.

It is love at its best.

It is the door to heaven, yet it is the gate to hell.

Take the right attitude toward the Cross and you will live forever. Take the wrong attitude toward the Cross and you will be forever lost. The Cross Is A Revelation Of Man The Cross is a revelation of man. Nowhere else do we see humanity as we see it in the light of Calvary. On no other occasion was the totally depraved heart of man so completely laid bare. For centuries man had looked upon the cross as the most shameful, disgraceful death that one could die and yet, so wicked was his heart that he considered it the most appropriate death for the Son of God. How he must have gloried in such a thought, for, remember, it was not privately but openly that man clamored for His crucifixion. In the midst of circumstances that should have called forth nothing but love, man exhibited the most terrible hatred the world has ever known.

What Think Ye of Christ?"

God said, "What think ye of Christ?" Sinful man laid hold on Jesus, dragged Him to Calvary, nailed Him to the Cross, lifted it to an upright position and said, "Do you wish to know what we think of Your Son? Behold Him dying between two thieves the shameful death of the Cross. That is what we think of Him."

Calvary is a picture of man taking sides with the Devil against God. Here the camouflage of man’s religion is torn away and his heart of hell is revealed. Yet it was for this heart that Christ died and with a full knowledge of its condition He prayed, "Father, forgive them."

I saw One hanging on a tree In agony and blood;

He fixed His languid eyes on me As near His Cross I stood.

Sure never till my latest breath Shall I forget that look;

He seemed to charge me with His death, Though not a word He spoke. My conscience felt and owned the guilt And plunged me in despair;

I knew my sins His blood had spilt, And helped to nail Him there. A second look He gave, which said, "I freely all forgive; This blood is for thy ransom shed;

I die that you may live." The Cross Is The Revelation Of The Law The Cross is a revelation of the law. Nowhere else do we see the unchangeableness, the sternness, the power and the grandeur of the law as we see it at Calvary. There it is revealed to be holy, just and good. The Law Is Strict

Some would have us believe that the law is too strict, too rigid, too stern, and that Christ came to temper it. No! Had it been too rigid, would God have permitted His only Son to face its full penalty? Remember, Christ kept the law, yet when He took the sinner’s place He received no mercy at its hands. Rigid, relentless, uncompromising law said to Jesus, "If You would substitute for the sinner, You must fulfill all my precepts, You must endure all my penalties, as if You were guilty of the sins of all the world."

Knowing this, Jesus marched unswervingly to Calvary to bear your sins and my sins in His own body on the tree. Surely J. W. Van De Venter was right:

He paid my debt upon the Cross;

He died to set me free; When nothing else could pay the loss, He gave Himself for me. The Cross Is A Revelation Of God The Cross is a revelation of God. God was majestic in creation when He made the heavens and the earth, when He formed man of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and made him a living soul.God was great at Sinai, when He appeared on the mountain top in the pillar of cloud and fire and wrote with His own finger the Ten Commandments on tables of stone.

God was wonderful in the Incarnation, when He left His throne in glory, came all the way to earth, wrapped Himself in a baby’s skin and was born of a virgin. John leads up to it by saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." No wonder angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men"! No wonder stars went on parade! No wonder shepherds left their flocks and wise men came from afar to worship! The world will never cease to sing:

Silent night! Holy night!

All is calm, all is bright ’Round yon virgin mother and Child!

Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace. That night God came to earth. That night the Redeemer was born. That was the Incarnation. The Incarnation Is Not All With all its wonder and glory, the Incarnation is not the whole of the Gospel, nor the half of it. It is at Calvary, not in creation, not on Sinai, not at Bethlehem that we get our first full revelation of God. The Cross is a revelation of God’s character. The Cross is a revelation of God’s love. The Cross is a revelation of His heart. The Cross is a revelation of the distance God will traverse for the sinner. The Cross is a revelation of love being put to the extreme test.

Even the angels who had been with Him from the beginning had never before seen so much of God. When I think of the Cross and its pictures of God, I feel like singing:

Jesus, keep me near the Cross, There a precious fountain Free to all -- a healing stream,Flows from Calvary’s mountain. In the Cross, in the Cross, Be my glory ever;

Till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river. The Cross Is A Revelation Of The Gospel The Cross is a revelation of the Gospel. The Gospel is good news; and the Cross towers "o’er the wrecks of time," a great transmitter broadcasting Good News to the world. What news emanates from the Cross?

News that the first far-off prophecy has been fulfilled: the serpent’s head is bruised.

News that the age-old prophecy of Jacob has been completed: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come."

News that the prophesy of Isaiah has come to pass: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

News that He who left "Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah" has arrived.

News that types and shadows are done away and the "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" has come.

News that man may be reconciled to God.

News that there is an answer to every question raised by law or righteousness.

News that there is a solution to every problem raised by God or conscience.

News that there is an honorable settlement for every claim that is made against the sinner.

News that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

News that "ye who . . . were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."

News that "now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."

News that "we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life."

News that "if this earthly house of our tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."No wonder E. A. Hoffman wrote:

Down at the Cross where my Saviour died, Down where for cleansing from sin I cried;

There to my heart was the blood applied;

Glory to His Name! No wonder he concluded each verse with the expression "Glory to His Name!" and used it as a refrain. When I think of that wonderful Cross and the Good News that has emanated from it to all the world, even to my own soul, my heart cries out with Elisha A. Hoffman, "Glory to His Name!" The Cross Is More Durable Than Time The Cross will not pass with the years. It is more durable than time. It was in God’s plan from the beginning. For centuries God and all the people who had eyes to see, looked forward to the Cross, and FOREVER men will look back upon it.

Everything hinges upon the Cross. The Cross was the decisive battle between heaven and hell. The Cross was the climax of a deliberate plan. By virtue of the Cross, Christ will return. By virtue of the Cross, the prince of this world will be cast into the lake of fire. By virtue of the Cross, the last enemy, which is death, shall be put down. By virtue of the Cross, "the kingdoms of this world [will] become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."

Scoffers The Bible teaches that in the last days there will arise scoffers. They are here now. They say, "The Cross is time-worn and time-honored. Its preaching is ineffectual. The Christ of the past and the Christ of the present are vastly different." They tell us that we need a modern Gospel.

Faith of Our Fathers

We do not need a new Gospel, for the faith of our fathers is living still. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. The power of the Cross still lives.The preaching of the Cross is as effectual today as it was the day it changed John Bunyan from the swearing tinker to the immortal dreamer of Bedford Jail, and brought from his pen that great book Pilgrim’s Progress. The Cross has as much power today as it did when it took Dwight L. Moody from a Boston shoe store and made him a flaming evangelist. The Cross is as efficacious today as it was when it lifted Jerry McCauley, the river thief, from his prison cell and made him an apostle to the lost. The Cross is not time-worn The Cross is not time-honored. The Cross is not out-of-date. The power of the Cross still lives, and so does the Christ who hung upon it.

We speak that which we do know, and testify of those things which we have seen, which we have heard and which we. have felt in our hearts. The power of the Cross and its Christ has wrought a change in my life, and I can say with the apostle, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

Let the Heathen Rage

Let "the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing." Let the infidel howl. Let the critic scoff, the agnostic doubt, the atheist sneer. Let them come upon us singly, in groups or as an army. Let them take our chart. Let them take our compass. Let them break our mast, strip our sails, wreck our rudder and sink our boat. We will take the "Old Rugged Cross" for a raft and push out on the ocean of eternity to meet a sin-avenging God with only one plea upon our lips: In my hand no price I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling. When I think of the Cross With its arms stretching wide, For you and for me, And the whole world beside, my soul sings with George Bennard:

I’ll cherish the old rugged Cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged Cross, And exchange it some day for a crown.

* * * * * * *