Sermon Central
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The Power Of Embraced Sacrifice Is Greater Than The Power Of Coercion
Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Apr 8, 2022 (message contributor)
"The cross has become the most widely recognized symbol in the world. It marks more graves, graces more jewelry, and sits atop more churches than any other design. The making of the sign of the cross is known from basilicas to baseball diamonds. Finding a logo has become big business, but no Corporation, country, or cause has produced such an enduring or widespread image.
The cross's very ubiquity causes us to forget what a strange symbol it is. It was the most humiliating means of execution available to Rome. Imagine choosing an electric chair or gallows or a guillotine as an icon for anything.
The cross was changed from the symbol of a human empire’s power into a symbol of the suffering love of God. It was changed from an expression of ultimate threat into an expression of ultimate hope. It came, in a sense, to express the exact opposite of its original purpose - that the power of embraced sacrifice is greater than the power of coercion. How did this happen? Jesus chose it. He chose to die on it. After Friday, neither the cross nor the world could stay the same."
John Ortberg, "Who Is This Man: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus." Zondervan publishing 2012. Page 173-174.
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