1. ONE CROSS [symbol of our sin]:
1 Corinthians 1:18 “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.”
• Growing up I saw different perspectives of the cross of Christ.
• For certain denominations it was a kind of fascination and looked up to be an idol.
• Many wore miniatures of it as earring, finger rings, around their neck and even some around their waists. Used in fashion and designer clothing today.
• One could see it on church steeples, inside homes and on bumper stickers on and inside cars as hangings in order to profess Christ.
• The bad guys in eastern movies had it around their necks and this saddened me a lot.
• For the Jews, Greeks, Romans and Gentiles it was a sign of weakness. Even today …
• Constantine used it for the first time on his Kingdom’s flag.
• Many European countries did the same and slowly it became the emblem of the Crusades against non-Christians.
• There is a gentleman on television who carries it around the world to proclaim Christ.
• Many in the world today have seen it but do not even know what it represents.
• Today we will see what the CROSS of Christ really means and what it represents and how do we respond to it OR How are we supposed to respond to it?
It is derived from the Latin word CRUX. In the Greek language it is STAUROS, but sometimes we find the word SKOLOPS used as its Greek equivalent. The historical writers, who transferred the events of Roman history into the Greek language, make use of these two words.
What did the Cross symbolize?
• Symbol of pain, distress and burden-bearing
• Symbolizes rejection
• Symbolizes suffering and humiliation
• Symbolized a curse
• Turned the curse upon us into a blessing (Galatians 3)
• Doctrine of the Atonement (Pauline theology)
• Symbolizes death and God’s saving power
• Expresses the bond of unity between the Jew and the Gentile (Ephesians 2)
• Expresses the bond believer and Christ (Ephesians 2)
• Symbolizes love and God’s grace (John 3: 16)
• Symbolizes Sanctification (Galatians 4)
• Symbolizes Christ’s victory over death
What was the purpose of the Cross?
• Hang our BURDENS on the Cross
• Hang our SHAME on the Cross
• Hang our SIN on the Cross
2. ONE MAN [God’s sacrifice]:
Philippians 2:8 “And being found in appearance as A MAN, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the DEATH OF THE CROSS.”
Jesus Christ appeared to other people just as any other man. This was another aspect of His humility. There were no visual clues in His "appearance" that He was either sinless or divine. In fact Isaiah tells us in 53:2-3 that “He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Jesus further "humbled Himself by becoming obedient" to His Father's will, "to the point of" laying down His life in "death." Beyond that, He was willing to undergo “death on a cross,” by crucifixion, a form of execution that was without equal in its pain and humiliation.
All these centuries the cross has been a sacred symbol for Christians but during the time of Paul it provoked horror and loathe. The Phoenicians and Persians practiced crucifixion before the Greeks and Romans adopted it. It was a form of execution from which Roman citizens were exempt. Only the worst criminals among the slaves and foreigners underwent crucifixion. Hanging on a tree was a sign to the Jews that the person disgraced in this way was under "the curse of God" (Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13). The advance on Christ's example, in this verse, is the extent to which He was willing to go in humble submissiveness - in obedience to His Father's will. All believers should be willing to do the same (v. 5).
He who stooped so low in His humility was elevated to the highest possible place of honor by the Father. Here Paul turns to the glorification of our Lord by the Father, due to His humility and obedience. As a result of our Lord’s humility and obedience, God highly exalted Him, giving to Him a name above every name. He who dwelt among men, and who was rejected and crucified by men; is the one to whom every knee will someday bow. Every tongue will confess Him to be Lord of all. It does not seem to be only men who will acknowledge Him as Lord, either. Every creature in heaven, on earth, and under the earth will confess that He is Lord - all of this achieving what our Lord intended, the glory of God the Father.
Jesus denied himself the kingly lifestyle that He could have lived on earth. During the Passion Week, Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey. What did He deny himself? He could easily come on a white horse with His army and overthrown the Romans. Jesus is in the garden of gethsemane. What cup did He deny himself? What cup does He choose? Jesus was nailed to the cross. He was the King of all kings. He did not need to do that! He could have asked someone else to do it. What was He denying himself? He denied Himself to govern the World and be the King and Creator. He denied Himself to wield and exercise His power as God. He denied Himself the good life now!
3. CHANGED THE WORLD FOREVER
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION; old things have passed away; behold, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW.”
• The Word of God tells us that “Jesus died for your sins, so you should live in a new way” and some people respond, “I don’t care what you say – it’s not going to affect the way I live.”
• God says that the death of Christ has certain results, and on the other side we see that those results are not necessarily happening – at least not yet.
• God says, “You are a new creation,” and some of the people don’t respond – they continue to live in the same old way.
• God says, “You are forgiven,” and the people say, “I don’t feel forgiven.” From God’s perspective, forgiveness is a fact, but from the people’s perspective, it is not. They don’t believe it, so for them, it’s not true.
• There’s a difference between the objective truth of God and the subjective receiving of that truth by human beings.
• When we realize that we were slaves under bondage and are free now through Christ, we will deliberately pursue the ministry of reconciliation (restoration) to free others because you know what it is like to be in bondage.
• The transformation that we undergo makes us look more like him, and less like the world.
Illustration: Imagine the following: It’s a Wednesday night and you are at a church meeting when somebody runs in from the parking lot and says, "Turn on a radio, turn on a radio." And while the church listens, an announcement is made: "Two women are lying in a hospital dying from a mystery flu." Within hours it seems this thing just sweeps across the country. People are working around the clock trying to find an antidote. Nothing is working.
It’s as though it’s just sweeping in from everywhere. And then, all of a sudden the news comes out. The code has been broken. A cure can be found. A vaccine can be made. It’s going to take the blood of somebody who hasn’t been infected, and so, sure enough, all through different countries channels of emergency are broadcasting, everyone is asked to do one simple thing: Go to your local hospital and have your blood type taken. That’s all we ask of you. When you hear the sirens go off in your neighborhood, please make your way quickly, quietly, and safely to the hospitals.
Sure enough, when you and your family get down there late on that Friday night, there is a long line, and they’ve got nurses and doctors coming out and pricking fingers and taking blood and putting labels on it. Your wife and your children are out there, and they take your blood type and they say, "Wait here in the parking lot and if we call your name, you can be dismissed and go home." You stand around, scared, with your neighbors, wondering what in the world is going on and if this is the end of the world.
Suddenly a young man comes running out of the hospital screaming. He’s yelling a name and waving a clipboard. What? He yells it again! And your son tugs on your jacket and says, Daddy, that’s me. Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy. Wait a minute. Hold on! And they say, "its okay, his blood is clean. His blood is pure. We want to make sure he doesn’t have the disease. We think he has the right type."
Five tense minutes later, outcome the doctors and nurses, crying and hugging one another- some are even laughing. It’s the first time you have seen anybody laugh in a week, and an old doctor walks up to you and says, "Thank you, sir. Your son’s blood type is perfect. It’s clean, it is pure, and we can make the vaccine." As the word begins to spread all across that parking lot full of folks, people are screaming, praying, laughing and crying. But then the grey-haired doctor pulls you and you wife aside and says, "May we see you for a moment? We didn’t realize that the donor would be a minor and we need, we need you to sign a consent form." You begin to sign and then you see that the number of pints of blood to be taken is empty.
"How many pints?" And that is when the old doctor’s smile fades and he says, "We had no idea it would be little child. We weren’t prepared. We need it all!"
"But ... You don’t understand. We are talking about the world here. Please sign. We need it all!"
"But can’t you give him a transfusion?" "If we had clean blood we would. Can you sign? Would you sign?" In numb silence, you do. Then they say,
"Would you like to have a moment with him before we begin?" Can you walk back? Can you walk back to that room where he sits on a table saying, "Daddy? Mummy? What’s going on?" Can you take his hands and say, "Son, your mummy and I love you, and we would never ever let anything happen to you that didn’t just have to be. Do you understand that?" And when that old doctor comes back in and says, "I’m sorry, we’ve got to get started. People all over the world are dying."
Can you leave? Can you walk out while he is saying, "Dad? Mum? Dad? Why have you forsaken me?" And then next week, when they have the ceremony to honor your son, and some folks sleep through it, and some folks don’t even come because they go to the lake, and some folks come with a pretentious smile and just pretend to care. Would you want to jump up and say, "MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DON’T YOU CARE?" Is that what GOD wants to say? "MY SON DIED FOR YOU. DON’T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I CARE?" Father, seeing it from your eyes breaks our hearts. Maybe now we can begin to comprehend the great Love you have for us.
Christ did His part by taking up His cross and shedding His blood for the entire world so that we are redeemed and have eternity with Christ alone. How will you respond to Him today?
How are you going to respond to the Cross today?
• The Centurion: "Truly this was the Son of God!" (Matthew 27:54)
• The thief on the left: "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." (Luke 23:39)
• The thief on the right: "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:40-43)
