View of the Cross
February 24, 2008
Views of the Cross: Roman
When we picture the cross we see life. We celebrate the cross because for us it is a symbol of victory. For us the cross means our sins are forgiven. We are made right with God. Through the blood that was shed on the cross we are saved. For us the cross means we won. So we celebrate it. We decorate our homes with it, we wear it on our clothes, we depict in all different forms of art, we surround ourselves with the image of the cross. But this symbol that means life for us was not always a sign of victory. That which means life to us was once a symbol of death. Though we see the cross in a light unlike any other in history we do not totally understand its significance. In order to truly comprehend what the cross is, we have to see it with different eyes. We must look at it not as 21st century Christians but as someone living in the first century. So what we are going to do is look at the cross through the eyes of a Roman and next week through the eyes of the Jews. Understanding the cross is essential, because the truth is you do not understand Christ until you understand His cross.
This symbol of the cross that we celebrate is ironically one that was so offensive that the respectable, cultured writers and historians would rarely describe it. The reason for this scarcity in description is not that crucifixion was an uncommon practice but that it was such a horrific act that historians were reluctant to dwell on the details. In fact the most detail that we have on the crucifixion comes from the Gospel narratives which are surprisingly brief in their description of the process. The Gospel writers simply state: “they crucified Him”. Now there are other writings that have been pieced together along with archeological evidence that has given us a pretty good understanding of crucifixion but the interesting thing is that this topic was so offensive that you wouldn’t bring it up. The cross was not something discussed in polite conversation. It is offensive. And we stand here 2000 years later scared to share our faith because of what people might say, scared to take a stance because people might be offended. I have news for you-the cross has always been offensive. That is not something that is new. While it is strange that Christianity has adopted such an offensive symbol, it is also very fitting, PEOPLE SHOULD BE OFFENDED, people should be upset. For the message of the cross has always been scandalous and offensive, and if when you share the message of Christ with others and no one is getting mad…you are not doing it right. The cross is offensive, period.
The cross is not just offensive, it is shameful. The Crucifixion is one of the most sadistic forms of torture that has been invented by man because it deliberately delayed death until the maximum pain had been inflicted. This particular form of execution was invented by the Persians, practiced by the Egyptians, Indians, and Assyrians, but perfected by the Romans. The Romans turned this particularly cruel form of execution into an art form of pain. Crucifixion does no damage to major organs, nor does it cause severe amounts of blood loss. The benefit of this particular form of punishment is that a person could survive for several days in intense agony. This form of death was also particularly shameful. The victim was stripped naked and nailed to a cross in a public place, often along roadsides so everyone could see them and mock them as the passed by. The shame did not end with their life either, once dead the victim would often be denied burial and their body would be left on the cross to rot or to be picked apart by scavengers. Crucifixion is a revolting practice that is designed to shame its victims. As we see in Hebrews 12:2:
Heb 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The cross was not a symbol of life it was a symbol of shame. Even to the Romans who perfected crucifixion found it to be utterly shameful. In fact it was not legal for a Roman to be crucified except in cases of high treason. Crucifixion was a punishment that the Romans reserved for outsiders who they did not even consider to be fully human. Cicero a brilliant Roman orator and one of the more influential minds of the Romans Empire said: to bind a Roman citizen is a crime, to flog him is an abomination, to kill him is almost an act of murder, to crucify him is-what? There is no fitting word that can possibly describe so horrible a deed. Cicero actually took this further appealing that the cross should be so far removed from a Roman citizen even in his thoughts that the sheer mention of the cross is unfitting for a Roman citizen. Romans found the cross so offensive that they would not even talk about it. So the message of the cross that means salvation to us, was considered shameful and vile to the Roman world. For the Romans crucifixion was a crime reserved for the worst criminals. The fact that Jesus was crucified marked Him as terrible criminal to the Romans. Imagine how you would feel if you heard that there was a man who had been arrested as a terrorist. He had been put on trial and found guilty and was given the death penalty. Then you started seeing people who were following this guy, who took on his name and began a religion based on him. How offensive would you find that? How upset would you be to learn that people were following a man found guilty of terrorism?
We must not forget that the cross is not just a symbol. There was something that happened to the body during crucifixion and the Romans understood this better than most. In fact they experimented with crucifixion trying different forms and styles to maximize effectiveness. Much like the Nazis used Jews as medical Ginny pigs the Romans used foreigners to test out different styles of crucifixion. Even within the Roman Empire crucifixion practices varied. Some victims were crucified on an ‘x’ shaped cross, others on a capital ‘t’ shaped cross, but Jesus we know is crucified on a lower case ‘t’ cross because they hung the titulus, or sign, with the accusations against Him over His head. What they would do is they would force the victim to carry the patibulum, the cross bar, to the site of his or her execution. This would be after they had been flogged. The Roman flogging unlike how we might picture it was so severe it left the person unrecognizable. 6 out of 10 died from flogging alone. Having suffered an already cruel punishment the victim would then be marched to the site of their crucifixion.
The victim would then be thrown onto their back, where their arms would be stretched out so that their hands could be tied or nailed down. The Romans preferred the latter for obvious reasons. The victim’s hands would be nailed to the patibulum with a 7 in spike. Now in Roman thinking, like in soccer your hand was anything from the tips of your fingers to the elbows. It is unlikely that they nails were actually driven through the palms if position properly a nail through the palms at best could support about 88 lbs of pressure. This would not be enough to hold a squirming body on the cross. The most likely place for putting a nail was (HERE) between the two bones of your forearm the radius and the ulna. In driving the nail here through the flexor retinaculum they would achieve two things: 1. they would ensure that the victim would remain on the cross no matter how much wiggling they did and 2. they would severe what is called the median nerve. This causes an extreme amount of fiery pain to shoot through the arms and back, which was the desired effect. Once that victim was fixed to the patibulum they were lifted onto the stipes which is the beam of the cross sticking out of the ground. Then they would fascine the feet to the stipe again usually with a nails. Sometimes they would nail the victims feet to the side of the cross but most the time they nailed them in the front forcing the victim to bend his legs awkwardly. With this done they would wait for the victim to die often shouting insults at him.
Now a victim of crucifixion does not die from blood loss. The amount of blood lost from the hands and feet is actually minimal. They are left on the cross for days. The position they were put in forced their breathing to become labored. In fact in order to breath they would have to lift themselves up on the nails through their wrists rubbing their freshly scourged back along the rugged piece of wood just to take in air. Obviously this would be very painful every day it would become harder and harder for them to breath. Every breath that the victim took was excruciating. Some victims did die from asphyxiation. In addition to the pain of the crucifixion and the labored breathing a victim would commonly have insects burrow into their wounds. Scavenger birds were drawn to the bodies, particularly the moisture of the eye balls and would actually eat the victim off of the cross.
There is nothing glamorous about this. The cross is not some glorious wonderful thing. The cross is a disgusting, vile, ruthless way to end someone’s life. And this is what we celebrate? This is what we identify with? Can you see how strange that really is?
To the Romans the cross was a very useful tool. The Romans used crucifixion as a means to put down rebellion. The Romans had come in and conquered Jerusalem. Now the Roman Empire was lenient with people they conquered, allowing them to keep many of their own customs because their goal was to assimilate them and make them a part of Rome as well. So they gave many freedoms to the Jews, more than many others groups. The Jews however were not happy having an outside rule so from time to time a group of rebels would rise up and fight against the Romans. So in efforts to deter future uprisings the Romans would come through and crucify the rebels sometimes as many as 2000 at a time. The crucified rebels served as a visible reminder to any who felt compelled to follow in their footsteps what happens to those who rise up against the Romans. And for the most part it was very effective. Nothing keeps the frustrated masses in line like seeing the pain that the last rebel rousers experienced. The cross was an effective tool in not only discouraging uprisings, and causing pain to its victims, but in shaming the victim completely.
We celebrate the cross of Christ, when we don’t even truly know what was done to Him. We rejoice in a cross that we don’t even understand. Here is Jesus with most or all of the skin gone from His back and the subcutaneous tissue exposed to the open air, possibly even the spine. He is mangled and mutilated. He has been beaten to a point where His own mother would not recognize Him. And all of this is before He gets to the crucifixion. Then He had a 125 lbs board tied over their shoulders and was forced to march from the Praetorium down the Via Dolorosa to the place of the skull, called Golgotha where He was nailed to the cross. The effects of crucifixion on the body are very real, and Jesus felt them all. Every lash from the Roman cat of nine tails to every agonizing breath that Jesus took in His final hours on the cross He took for us.
Col 2:13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, Col 2:14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Col 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
While Easter may be the highlight, the focal point of our religion, Easter means nothing without the cross. Don’t you see- the cross is more than just an icon to put on jewelry or on clothing. The cross is more than a simple artistic decoration. The cross, this torturous form of death is the very source of our eternal life. The cross of Jesus Christ changes everything. The slaves are freed, the poor are rich, the weak are strong, and the dead are made alive. All our iniquities, all our sins, all our transgressions, all the wrongs we have done are nailed to the cross through the power of Jesus Christ and the grace of God. Through His death we have access to life. But that is the part we understand. We see the cross as a source of life, and so often forget that it is truly a source of death. Jesus will say among other places in Matthew 10:38
Mt 10:38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
The cross is not just a source of life…it is so much more than that. The cross is only our source of life when it becomes our death. The cross we are to carry is not a burden. It’s not: my job is hard and my boss doesn’t like me and that’s my cross to bear. It’s not my ex-wife or ex-husband is giving me a hard time that’s my cross to bear…the cross is not a burden it is an instrument of death. But it is so much more than that. Jesus is not asking you to follow Him with a burden. He is asking you to join a revolution that has already failed. He is not asking that you simply be willing to die. The cross is about so much more than death. What Jesus is asking you is: are you willing to forsake everything else in this life, for me? Are you willing to be mocked in school? Are you willing to be poked fun at by your family? Are you willing to be persecuted and mistreated for me? Jesus is not asking you to be willing to die for Him, He is asking you to be willing to live for Him. Will you put Him first? Will you follow Him even when it brings you shame? Even when everyone around you will mock you for it? And you might be thinking: well Christianity is not that unpopular people don’t make fun of you for being a Christian…THEY SHOULD. If you take up the cross of Christ and follow Him, your life will be different. You wont do the things that they do. You wont say the things they say or talk about the things they talk about. You will be different and they should make fun of you for it. But if you are not willing to live every day for Christ…then your not really willing to die for Him, and if your not willing to die for Him…they you are not worthy of Him.
Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for you. What sacrifice have you paid for Him? Are you willing to take up a cross and carry it, knowing the shame that it will bring, knowing the persecution that will come from it. Will you take up your cross even if it means rejecting all the things of the world, and being mocked by everyone in it?
