Message of the Cross

Jesus was not the first person ever crucified. The Persians had diabolically invented crucifixion in about 300 BC. The Romans of Jesus’ time had put the practice to their own evil ends. It was considered the worst punishment that could be carried out.

Man was created in the image of God, and one aspect of that image was the ability to imagine and create things. This endued gift in the fallen man was corrupted to invent objects for evil use. Death by crucifixion was one of those things. The word we use for unbearable pain is excruciating—which is from the Latin word “excruciare” [ex-scru-char-a] meaning “out of the cross, to torture.” We could say that excruciating is the pain of the cross.

Crucifixion was originally designed to punish rebellious slaves. Tyrants in the ancient empires as the Romans and others saw the general population as their proles and perhaps even as slaves. Those who opposed their power or seemed to be a threat to their power were treated as rebellious slaves thus they were crucified. They had other means of capital punishment such as beheading, but crucifixion was the worst of all methods.

The crucifixion was also utilized to cause fear in the population as much as it was to punish offenders. Tyrants maintain control by fear and intimidation.

Those crucified had their crime nailed above their heads. Jesus had this accusation written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Matthew 27:37 NKJV). This was the charge that was declared by the Jewish leaders to Pilate. It written then as a mockery, but remembered today as a declared truth.

At his trial before Pilate the Jewish leaders accused him, “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King” (Luke 23:2-3 NKJV).

It was not unusual for a crucified man to writhe in pain for days. Jesus gave up His spirit and died after about six hours on the cross. When Pilate heard the report, he was surprised that Jesus had died so soon. The other two men had their legs broken to hasten their death because the Jewish leaders requested the crucified men would not linger on the Preparation Day.

Usually the crucified ones were left on the cross for days to extend the effect of horror. The scavenger birds could peck out their eyeballs and rip at their flesh. The roving wild dogs would take their share as well. Most of the time what was left was thrown into a heap in a pit with other corpses denying a “proper burial.” It was not a pretty sight.

Many of us have read and heard the story of the crucifixion of Jesus many times. To many it has morphed into a legend. The cruel punishment of the cross has lost its pain and shame over the centuries. Crosses are now of gold and the depiction of the Man on the cross is recognizable and appears almost unscathed.

When Jesus had His day on the cross it was a horrible scene. He was beaten beyond recognition. He was shamefully stripped of all His clothes to add insult to injury. He died the death reserved for rebellious scoundrels. He was mocked, ridiculed, shamed, beaten, allowed to suffer, and openly slain for all the world to see.

His death on the cross brought God’s plan of redemption for mankind through the perfect sacrifice of the Son of God. This wonderful gift of salvation, through this horrific means, was for all who put their faith in His name. We have all sinned. Jesus paid the death debt of our sin. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV).

The Apostle Paul said, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV). Even today there are those who snicker at the foolishness of the cross. The carnal mind cannot comprehend the magnitude of the crucified Savior. But to those of us who have received the spiritual revelation of it, it is nothing less than the power of God.

Paul gloried in the cross of Jesus when he said, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14 NKJV).

If a Roman, Greek, or a crude pagan heard the words of the apostle, he would have thought it an outlandish and foolish statement. So would the pagan and the arrogant intellect of today. Yet, for the follower of Christ it is the “power of God.”

He took our shame as His own.
He absorbed God’s wrath that was our due.
He died as the slain Lamb of God for our sins.
He paid the complete debt for our transgressions.
He suffered the agony of our deserved torture for our iniquities.
He experienced being forsaken so we could enjoy the fellowship of God.
Jesus suffered the worst of man’s punishment so He could bear the worst of man’s sins.

Almost seven centuries before the crucifixion of Jesus, the Prophet Isaiah saw in the Spirit and proclaimed for the ages to come: “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5 NKJV).

He died for us. Let us believe in His death and resurrection for the salvation of our lives and souls.

Yours on the Journey,

Harry L. Whitt