From Shame To Glory Series

The great Bible commentator William Barclay described a tragic event that took place early in young Jesus’ life, when Jesus was somewhere around the age of 10 or 11. A zealot by the name of Judas the Galilean led a rebellion against Rome. He raided the Roman armory at Sepphoris, Mary’s hometown, which was only four miles from Nazareth where Jesus grew up. As might be expected, Roman vengeance was swift and violent. Sepphoris was burned to the ground and its inhabitants were sold into slavery. Two thousand rebels were crucified on crosses which were set in a line along one of the main roads as a warning to anyone who might have been thinking of following the example of these poor fellows. It sent a pretty clear message … don’t mess with Rome!

When Jesus spoke about His up-coming crucifixion, He and his disciples and followers had a pretty clear picture in their minds of what He was talking about. It was a fairly common sight in their day.

The cross was a symbol of deep shame and great pain to Jew and Gentile alike. To the Jews, it was the worst form of humiliation possible. Under Mosaic law, “… anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse” (Deuteronomy 21:23). A century before Jesus hung on a cross, the famous Roman senator and philosopher Cicero wrote this about the cross: “It is the most cruel and shameful of all punishments. Let it never come near the body of a Roman citizen.”

John’s description of crucifixion, like the other three Gospels, doesn’t give us a lot of detail.

“So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by Himself, He went out to what is called ‘The Place of the Skull,’ which in Hebrew is called ‘Golgotha.’ There,” says John, they crucified Him … and with Him two others … one on either side ..with Jesus between them.” (John 19:17-18).

As the senator and philosopher Cicero said, crucifixion was a cruel and horrible way to die. It was and is one of the most torturous forms of execution ever devised. After a brutal scourging or beating … which most did not survive … the victim was forced to carry his own crossbeam to the site of execution … a distance of about a mile. A man would walk ahead of the condemned person carrying a placard on which were written the charges that had brought this poor wretch to such a ghastly and deplorable condition. This placard, which would be nailed to the convict’s cross once they reached the place of execution, served as a solemn warning to others not to commit the same crime or crimes.

John says that Jesus carried His own cross … not the whole cross as we so often see depicted today but probably just the crossbeam as I mentioned earlier. The upright portion was already in the ground and waiting for Him at Golgotha.

The other Gospel writers report that the soldiers forced a man named Simon of Cyrene to bear Jesus’ cross. I think that Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us about Simon of Cyrene because they wanted us to know how weak Jesus was from the mistreatment and beatings that He had received. It was a miracle that Jesus was able to stand at all. I think that John leaves out the part of Simon of Cyrene because he wants us to focus on the fact that Jesus alone carried the burden of our sin all the way to the rest of the cross that was waiting for him at Golgotha. What Jesus carried on His shoulders that day weighed a whole lot more than just a wooden crossbeam … heavy as that was and as weak as He was, amen?

When they reached “The Place of the Skull,” soldiers stripped Jesus naked and made Him lie down with his arms resting on the crossbeam, where they proceeded to nail Him to it. The crossbeam was then hoisted up and fastened to the upright. His two feet were forced together and nailed to the cross with a single nail … and then everyone stood around and watched Him die.

In Jesus’ day, the image of the cross was associated with Roman oppression. It was associated with suffering and pain and death. The cross was a sign of the worst torture one could possibly suffer. It was a symbol of shame and humiliation. It was a cursed sign.

And yet, Jesus willingly accepted the cross. He willingly chose to die a condemned criminal’s death. He willingly accepted the humiliation … the ridicule and hate … the pain and suffering that came with dying on the cross.

But … [pause]

… when He did that, something truly amazing happened. He changed the cross from a symbol of Roman authority to divine mercy. He changed the cross from a symbol of death and hopelessness into a symbol of life … eternal life … and hope … eternal hope.